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1—Layman’s Miss. Movement 












































. 



















ND this gospel of 
the kingdom shall he 
preached in all the 
world, for a witness 
unto all nations; and 
then shall the end 
come. ’ ’— Matt. 24:14. 








THE 

Layman’s Missionary 
Movement 

ITS DEVELOPMENT 
AND LEADERSHIP 

Prepared for 

The Home Missionary Department 



1 ’ ’> , > 


Printed in U. S. A. 

PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 
Kansas City, Mo. Portland, Ore. St. Paul, Minn. 

Brookfield, Ill. Cristobal, C. Z. 














“The church of Christ has been organized on earth for 
missionary purposes, and it is of the highest importance 
that every individual member of the church should be a 
sincere laborer together with God, filled with the Spirit, 
having the mind of Christ, perfected in sympathy with 
Christ, and therefore bending every energy, according to 
his intrusted ability, to the saving of souls. Christ re¬ 
quires that every one who would be called by His name, 
should make His work the first and highest consideration, 
and disinterestedly cooperate with heavenly intelligences 
in saving the perishing, for whom Christ has died ”— 
Mrs. E. G. White. 


©CU654198 


Copyright 1922 by 

Pacific Press Publishing Association 

JAN 11 1922 







RtbxtnUb 

To the development of an efficient leadership 
imperatively needed in the great army of 
Prince Emmanuel ' for the finish¬ 
ing of our world task . 


CONTENTS 

The Work of the Home Missionary Department as 
a Part of the Third Angel’s Message. 11 

Origin and Salient Points in Review of the Work 
Prior to the Organization of the Department . . 31 

Organization of the Work into a Department of 
the General Conference. 47 

Principles, Policies, and Goals of the Home Mis¬ 
sionary Department. 70 

The Great Problem Facing the Home Missionary 
Department . 96 

Need of Workers to Extend and Improve the Work 
of the Home Missionary Department. 99 

Qualifications Needed for the Work of the Home 
Missionary Department . 103 

Calls from on High to Students in Training .... 119 








Prefatory Note 

“GO.” This little word prefaces the charter of the 
Christian church. In its comprehensive sweep it in¬ 
cludes every believer, and it sends each forth assured 
of the Lord’s presence in every ministration of loving 
service. 

“Ye shall be witnesses.” Thus the believer’s work 
was described. Everywhere—“in Jerusalem, and in 
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part 
of the earth,” Christ’s followers were to testify of His 
mighty power to save men from sin. 

And they “went everywhere preaching the word.” 
Acts 8:4. Such is the inspired history of the early 
church. Obedient to the commission, they went in the 
power of the Holy Spirit; and wonderful harvests of 
souls resulted. 

“What the Lord did for His people in that time, it 
is just as essential, and more so, that He do for His 
people to-day. All that the apostles did, every church 
member to-day is to do. And we are to work with as 
much more fervor, to be accompanied by the Holy 
Spirit in as much greater measure, as the increase of 
wickedness demands a more decided call to repent¬ 
ance. . . . From all believers light is to be reflected 
in clear, distinct rays. A work similar to that which 
the Lord did through His delegated messengers after 
the day of Pentecost He is waiting to do to-day.”— 
“ Testimonies ,” vol. 7, p. 33. 

“The words, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15), are spoken 
to each one of Christ’s followers. All who are ordained 
unto the life of Christ are ordained to work for the sal¬ 
vation of their fellow men. The same longing of soul 
that He felt for the saving of the lost is to be manifest 
in them. Not all can fill the same place, but for all 
there is a place and a work. All upon whom God’s 
blessings have been bestowed are to respond by actual 
service; every gift is to be employed for the advance¬ 
ment of His kingdom.”— Id., vol. 8, p. 16. 


( 9 ) 


10 The Layman*s Missionary Movement 

The mighty challenge of an unfinished task calls 
for faithful service on the part of every follower of 
Christ to-day. Next in importance to an induement of 
spiritual power is efficient leadership; and this volume 
goes forth freighted with a stirring appeal to strong 
men and women to give much prayer and study to the 
call to leadership in the layman’s movement. 

While these pages have been prepared primarily to 
give the students in our schools a clear and comprehen¬ 
sive understanding of the scope and significance of the 
layman’s missionary movement, they also emphasize 
the sacred responsibility resting upon ministry and 
laity alike in the finishing of God’s work, and may 
be studied with profit, not only in our schools and 
churches, but in every Seventh-day Adventist home 
as well. J. Adams Stevens. 

Home Missionary Department 
General Conference of 
Seventh-day Adventists. 


I 

The Work of the Home Missionary Department as 
a Part of the Third Angel's Message 

“The church is God’s appointed agency for the sal¬ 
vation of men. It was organized for service, and its 
mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From 
the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His 
church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and 
His sufficiency. The members of the church, those 
w T hom He has called out of darkness into His marvel¬ 
ous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is 
the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; 
and through the church will eventually be made mani¬ 
fest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly 
places,’ the final and full display of the love of God.”— 
“Acts of the Apostles ,” p. 9. 

The layman’s missionary movement, reorganized at 
the 1913 General Conference as the Home Missionary 
Department of our denominational activities, has for 
its objective the practical demonstration and comple¬ 
tion of the divine purpose for the church, which is so 
clearly set forth in the preceding paragraph; and con¬ 
sequently it occupies no small place in the work of 
God. The church membership constitutes the greatest 
resource of the denomination. The following instruc¬ 
tion is definite and explicit, and gives in a nutshell 
the reason for the existence of the Home Missionary 
Department; “The work of God in this earth can never 
be finished until the men and women comprising our 
church membership rally to the work, and unite their 
efforts with those of ministers and church officers.”— 
“ Testimonies ,” vol. 9, p. 117. 

Rapidly the prophecies are fulfilling which point 
to the near approach of the close of human probation. 
But before we are ushered into the final scenes of 
earth’s history, the work of God must be finished; and 
this cannot be accomplished “until the men and women 

( 11 ) 


12 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

comprising our church membership rally to the work.” 
The rallying of the church membership, therefore, be¬ 
comes the fundamental principle in the organization 
and development of the layman’s missionary move¬ 
ment; and in its plan of operation, the movement 
concerns itself particularly with the successful mobili¬ 
zation of the entire membership of the church for the 
evangelization of the world in this generation. 

No prophecy is more familiar to the people of God, 
or more significant in its meaning, than that of the 
Saviour when He said, “This gospel of the kingdom 
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto 
all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 
24: 14. This affords definite assurance that the gospel 
“shall be preached in all the world,” and that imme¬ 
diately following the accomplishment of this task, the 
end shall come. “The ideal plan for the extending of 
God’s kingdom,” writes Dr. C. L. Goodell, in his book 
“Pastoral and Personal Evangelism,” “is not through 
one evangelist or even one pastor,— it is by the united 
effort of the membership associated with a consecrated 
pastor. An aroused church membership will give us a 
redeemed continent. It is the common soldier who 
fights the world’s battles, and victory or defeat turns 
upon the man behind the guns. If our laymen are to 
win, they must put themselves in touch with the prin¬ 
ciples of personal service. The world must be won 
man by man. The personal touch is always the touch 
of power. Come nearer, come nearer to the needy 
heart if thou wouldst bless and heal! You recall the 
complaint of the Roman soldier as he took his broad¬ 
sword to enter his first contest: ‘The sword is too 
short.’ ‘If you add a step to it,’ said the Roman 
mother, ‘it will be long enough,’ and history records 
that as Rome shortened her sword she extended her 
empire.” { [ 

The work of the Seventh-day Adventist denomina¬ 
tion has rapidly grown to marvelous proportions in 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 13 

operation and scope. There is to-day scarcely a coun¬ 
try on the face of the earth which has not opened its 
doors to the message of the third angel; and with a 
comparatively small laboring force, wonderful results 
have been accomplished in the work of extending the 
gospel. Yet millions in heathenism are still unwarned, 
and many in our own land are without hope in Christ. 
A thoughtful survey of the world situation leads to 
the conclusion that our present force of Workers is 
inadequate to meet the demands which will be made 
upon the church before the work is finished. A worker 
in the Orient, speaking of the advance of the gospel 
in that vast expanse of territory, with its millions of 
people, said: “The home missionary work is one of the 
most important departments of our work. Unless we 
can enlist our native people to engage in Christian 
service in these foreign lands, we can never accomplish 
the task of giving the message in this generation.” 
This statement represents the fact with which we, as 
the people intrusted with a divine message for this 
time, are confronted. The need of the hour is the 
enlisting of every church member in Christian service 
and the effective organization of the forces. 

The Divine Plan 

Like a golden cord, the message of individual serv¬ 
ice and sacrifice on the part of God’s people runs 
through the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. 
In ancient times, God led His people into the land of 
promise,— a section of country which was the great 
highway of the nations of the ancient world. God 
designed that from this pivotal point, as the center of 
commerce, His people should evangelize the heathen 
nations. For the accomplishment of this end, every 
one in the ranks of ancient Israel was to be an active 
agent for shedding abroad the knowledge of the true 
God. But the narrative of Israel’s tragic history re¬ 
veals their failure to carry out the divine plan. They 



Luther and his contemporaries were used of God to turn the tide in the 
religious world. 


lost sight of God’s program for the evangelization of 
the world, and erelong national disaster overtook them, 
and they were scattered among the nations as bonds¬ 
men and outcasts. We are told that “had Israel been 
true to her trust, all the nations of earth would have 
shared in her blessings. But the hearts of those to 
whom had been intrusted a knowledge of saving truth, 
were untouched by the needs of those around them. 
As God’s purpose was lost sight of, the heathen came 
to be looked upon as beyond the pale of His mercy. 
The light of truth was withheld, and darkness pre¬ 
vailed. The nations were overspread with a veil of 
ignorance; the love of God was little known; error and 
superstition flourished .”—“Prophets and Kings,” pp. 
370, 371. 

It was this condition among the people of God, and 
the crying needs of the world around them, that 
brought forth the message of the ancient prophets. 
In their seclusion and self-complacency, Israel forgot 

( 14 ) 








The Layman's Missionary Movement 15 

God’s plan for spreading the light of truth, and vainly 
endeavored to find salvation through the rituals and 
customs of the ancient ceremonial system. The stir¬ 
ring, definite, personal appeal of the prophet Isaiah to 
priests and laymen, challenging them to greater serv¬ 
ice, would have awakened Israel to new spiritual life 
if it had been heeded. Note the urgency of the call 
and the new vistas of service that are opened to view 
in Isaiah’s appeal: “Is not this the fast that I have 
chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the 
heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and 
that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread 
to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are 
cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that 
thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from 
thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as 
the morning, and thine health shall spring forth 
speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; 
the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then 
shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt 
cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away 
from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of 
the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out 
thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; 
then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness 
be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee con¬ 
tinually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make 
fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, 
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” 
Isa. 58:6-11. 

And again, in one mighty challenge, Isaiah sounded 
the clarion call to Israel for individual service: “Arise, 
shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord 
is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall 
cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but 
the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall 
be seen upon thee.’’ Isa. 60:1, 2. God’s people were 
to understand that the work of evangelizing the world 


16 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

rested not alone with priests and rulers, but involved 
the service of every individual numbered in the great 
army composing His church on earth. The prophet 
Joel utters the same important truth, and his message 
also has special application in our day. “It shall come 
to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon 
all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall 
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your 
young men shall see visions. And also upon the serv¬ 
ants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour 
out My Spirit. And I will show wonders in the 
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars 
of smoke.” Joel 2:28-30. 

In giving the gospel commission, Christ included 
everyone who should espouse His cause through the 
coming years. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, 
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” 
Matt. 28:19, 20. We are told that “the commission 
given to the disciples is given also to us. To-day, as 
then, a crucified and risen Saviour is to be uplifted 
before those who are without God and without hope 
in the world. The Lord calls for pastors, teachers, and 
evangelists. From door to door His servants are to 
proclaim the message of salvation. To every nation, 
kindred, tongue, and people the tidings of pardon 
through Christ are to be carried .”—“Gospel Workers ,” 
p. 29. 

In the closing moments of His earthly sojourn, 
Christ promised the fullness of spiritual power for 
evangelizing the world. “Ye shall receive power, after 
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be 
witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, 
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the 
earth.” Acts 1:8. Soon after these words were ut¬ 
tered, the disciples were ushered into the scenes of 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 17 

Pentecost, and the gospel of Christ was heralded in 
old Jerusalem with wonderful power. Thousands were 
converted, and marvelous scenes were witnessed among 
the people. 

It is apparent, however, that the apostolic move¬ 
ment did not reach its zenith until after the stoning 
of Stephen. ‘‘And at that time there was a great 
persecution against the church which was at Jerusa¬ 
lem ; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the 
regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. . . . 
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every¬ 
where preaching the word.” Acts 8:1,4. This bitter 
experience led the apostolic church into its appointed 
destiny,— the heralding of the gospel to all the world. 
Col. 1:6; Rom. 1: 8. This was the layman’s movement 
of apostolic times. 

During the early centuries following the apostolic 
movement, the laity gradually lost sight of their indi¬ 
vidual responsibility to spread the gospel of Christ. 
In a little while, the work of evangelism was left 
almost entirely to the leaders of the church. As a 
result, there came about a spiritual decline; the church 
entered a period of darkness, and ecclesiasticism ruled 
the world. 

The Work of the Reformation 

Centuries passed, and the spiritual darkness deep¬ 
ened as the mass of the people, led by a corrupt reli¬ 
gious system, were deprived of the blessing of personal 
service. But God had a care for His work; and even 
during this dark hour, He was preparing a people to 
proclaim His truth. 

Luther and his contemporaries were used of God to 
turn the tide in the religious world. Fearlessly and 
boldly they launched the Reformation. In this heaven- 
inspired movement, the leaders of the people, monks, 
priests, bishops, and prelates, did not depend upon 
their efforts alone to carry the cause of the Refor- 


2 



When the Lutherans were persecuted and driven from their homes, they scattered seeds of truth wherever they went. 




































The Layman's Missionary Movement 19 

mation to triumph. They appealed to the laity, the 
common people, to help spread the message. In due 
time, large numbers responded, and thousands and 
tens of thousands all over Europe espoused the cause 
of the Reformation. In a little while, all Europe was 
afire. Literature was published, and scattered abroad 
by the common people. The light of truth spread 
everywhere. 

The Reformation of the Middle Ages was prophetic 
of the layman’s missionary movement in these modern 
times. God has intrusted a work of warning and re¬ 
form to Seventh-day Adventists, and it is incumbent 
upon the lay members of the denomination to unite 
their efforts with the leaders’ and fill a very important 
place in finishing the work of the gospel. The plan of 
evangelism which has been successfully demonstrated 
throughout the history of the work of God should at 
this time be carefully studied and made effective. A 
prominent writer and preacher of the present day re¬ 
fers to the progress of Christianity as follows: “There 
have been three notable periods in the history of the 
extension of the Christian religion — the time of 
the martyrs, the time of the monks, and the time 
of the Methodists. In each of these periods religion 
spread phenomenally. The significance of each of 
these for our present purpose is that each of them was 
an era of lay activity. The Christian church was be¬ 
gun by laymen; the apostles were all laymen. It has 
ever since owed its best growth to the cooperation of 
laymen .”—Dean Hodges, Cambridge Divinity School. 

A careful study of the divine plan for utilizing the 
service of every one who has enlisted under the banner 
of Prince Emmanuel for the finishing of the gospel 
work reveals that the successful development of the 
layman’s missionary movement will constitute the loud 
cry of the third angel’s message, which is referred to 
in Rev. 14:9-12. The spirit of service is always kin¬ 
dled upon the altar of triumphant experience. There 


20 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

is therefore no problem of more importance in connec¬ 
tion with the work of God at this time than that of 
directing the members of our churches into a deeper 
spiritual life, which is the mainspring of efficient 
Christian service. 

Among the last messages which came to this people 
from the servant of God are stirring calls to the mem¬ 
bership of our churches to a more active life of Chris¬ 
tian service. “My heart is often burdened because so 
many who might work are doing nothing. They are 
the sport of Satan’s temptations. Every church mem¬ 
ber who has a knowledge of the truth is expected to 
work while the day lasts; for the night cometh, wherein 
no man can work. Erelong we shall understand what 
that night means. The Spirit of God is being grieved 
away from the earth. The nations are angry with one 
another. Widespread preparations are being made for 
war. The night is at hand. Let the church arouse 
and go forth to do her appointed work. Every believer, 
educated or uneducated, can bear the message.”— 
“Testimonies,” vol. 9, p. 26. 

The loud cry of the third angel’s message will result 
in the earth’s being lightened with the glory of the 
Lord. The. servant of the Lord has given us a twen¬ 
tieth century setting to the first verse of the eighteenth 
chapter of Revelation in the following words: “In 
visions of the night representations passed before me 
of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. 
Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and 
other miracles were wrought. A spirit of intercession 
was seen, even as was manifested before the great day 
of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen vis¬ 
iting families, and opening before them the word of 
God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. 
On every side doors were thrown open to the proclama¬ 
tion of the truth. The world seemed to be lightened 
with the heavenly influence.”— Id., vol. 9, p. 126. 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 21 

Here is clearly brought to view a “reformatory 
movement among God’s people.” On first thought, it 
might seem strange that a reformatory movement of 
this kind is necessary, in view of the fact that Seventh- 
day Adventists have been especially called of God to 
carry a message of reform in many lines to the* world. 
But a close analysis of this message from the servant 
of God reveals that there is to be a reformation in the 
lives of His people. 

Two features of this great reformatory movement 
among the people of God to-day should receive special 
consideration: first, a reformation in the spiritual life 
of God’s people; and second, a reformation in their 
program for world evangelism. 

Concerning the reformation in the spiritual life, the 
following information is given: “A spirit of interces¬ 
sion was seen, even as was manifested before the great 
day of Pentecost. . . . Hearts were convicted by the 
power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine con¬ 
version was manifest.” There is to be a spiritual 
awakening within the church, leading to a more inti¬ 
mate acquaintance with the divine pattern. A new 
conversion must precede the reception of the Holy 
Spirit in the life. Those who would qualify for suc¬ 
cessful service in the closing scenes of earth’s history 
must have the life cleansed from every stain of known 
sin. A vitalized, spiritualized church is the only foun¬ 
dation upon which the layman’s missionary movement 
can build its superstructure; and without this founda¬ 
tion, all efforts to mobilize the forces in our churches 
for soul-winning effort will be in vain. To-day, as in 
the days of Pentecost, there must be an “upper-room” 
experience in the church and in the individual life. 

The reformation in the program for world evangel¬ 
ism is indicated in the description of the scene that 
opened before the servant of the Lord, as follows: “The 
sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought. . . . 
Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families, 


22 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

and opening before them the word of God. ... On 
every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation 
of the truth.” This is God’s program for the evan¬ 
gelization of the world. As a people, we are in danger 
of patterning after the methods of the world in our 
system of evangelism. Great revivals are conducted 
in the large centers of population, by the churches of 
the world, under evangelistic effort without regard to 
the great army of the church membership that should 
constitute an auxiliary reserve force to the efforts of 
minister and evangelist. God has given His people a 
plan of evangelism separate and distinct from methods 
employed by the popular churches of the world. He 
designs that every one who unites with His cause 
should be a living witness for Him in a world of sin, 
and that both ministers and laymen should take part 
in carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth. Like 
a great army, the church is to move forward in an 
unbroken line. 

We are told: “The strength of an army is measured 
largely by the efficiency of the men in the ranks. A 
wise general instructs his officers to train every soldier 
for active service. He seeks to develop the highest 
efficiency on the part of all. If he were to depend on 
his officers alone, he could never expect to conduct a 
successful campaign. He counts on loyal and untiring 
service from every man in his army. The responsi¬ 
bility rests largely upon the men in the ranks. And 
so it is in the army of Prince Emmanuel. Our General, 
who has never lost a battle, expects willing, faithful 
service from every one who has enlisted under His 
banner. In the closing controversy now waging be¬ 
tween the forces for good and the hosts of evil, He 
expects all, laymen as well as ministers, to take part. 
All who have enlisted as His soldiers are to render 
faithful service as minutemen, with a keen sense of 
the responsibility resting upon them individually.”— 
Id., vol. 9, p. 116. 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 23 

It is therefore apparent that for the finishing of 
the work of God in the earth, there must be mobiliza¬ 
tion of the forces of our church membership, and a 
post of duty assigned to every one who has enlisted 
as a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. This program 
involves some revision in the methods that have largely 
been followed. It means that the work of evangelism 
will not fall wholly upon the leaders who are called of 
God and ordained for their special and sacred service, 
but that the rank and file of the people are to be edu¬ 
cated, trained, and led forth into service, and that all — 
the leaders and the laity — will move forward unitedly 
for the last great advance upon the stronghold of the 
enemy. The accomplishment of this result requires at 
the present time leaders who will make it their heaven- 
appointed task to prepare the laity for their part of 
divine service — men and women whose hearts God has 
touched, and to whom He has given an understanding 
of the times; who will go forth in the spirit and power 
of Elijah, turning the hearts of the fathers to the 
children, and the hearts of the children to their fa¬ 
thers, preparing the individuals and the homes of our 
church membership to stand each in his appointed 
place, filled with the Spirit, and bearing aloft the torch 
of truth, thoroughly prepared unto all good works, and 
ready to respond intelligently to every signal to ad¬ 
vance. {( That which is needed now for the upbuilding 
of our churches is the nice work of wise laborers to 
discern and develop talent in the church ,— talent that 
can be educated for the Master’s use.” — Id., vol. 9, 
p. 117. May all who read these pages find within the 
heart a desire to join the force of these “wise laborers,” 
and thus render great aid in the reformation of the 
present day. 

Lines of Activity in God’s Program of Evangelism 
In the outline of the divine program for the present- 
day evangelism of the world, which is to embrace 
“hundreds and thousands,” including ministers and 


24 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

laity, there are three distinct lines of service brought 
to view: first, home medical missionary ministry; sec¬ 
ond, layman's Bible work; third, circulation of the 
printed page. In this threefold service is involved all 
that can be included in Christian ministry. It is an 
outline which furnishes the basic principles for organ¬ 
izing and training the people of God for the successful 
evangelization of the world. From the many state¬ 
ments by the spirit of prophecy, we select the following 
as endorsement of these lines of work: 

Home Medical Missionary Ministry .—“We have 
come to a time when every member of the church 
should take hold of medical missionary work.”— Id., 
vol. 7, p. 62. If we had been following God's program 
of evangelism during past years, the epidemics that 
have occurred at frequent intervals would have af¬ 
forded opportunity for Christian ministry to the sick 
and suffering which would have caused to sweep over 
the land a wave of powerful influence in favor of the 
truth. The failure lies in lack of training on the part 
of the church members for meeting such emergencies 
as Christian medical missionaries. When God's people 
come into full harmony with His plan for evangelizing 
the world, our churches will become training centers, 
and the members will be united as one great army for 
the accomplishment of this work. 

Layman's Bible Work .—“Hundreds and thousands 
were seen visiting families, and opening before them 
the word of God.”— Id., vol. 9, p. 126. “Our work has 
been marked out for us by our heavenly Father. We 
are to take our Bibles, and go forth to warn the world.” 
— Id., vol. 9, p. 150. Every child of God should be able 
to open the word of God to others and acquaint them 
with the light of truth for this time. As this reforma¬ 
tory movement develops, our churches will become 
training centers for lay Bible workers. 

Circulation of the Printed Page .—“In a large de¬ 
gree through our publishing houses is to be accom- 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 25 

plished the work of that other angel who comes down 
from heaven with great power, and who lightens the 
earth with his glory.”— Id., vol. 7, p. 11+0. “Who will 
go forth now with our publications? The Lord imparts 
a fitness for the work to every man and woman who 
will cooperate with divine power.”— Id., vol. 6, p. 333. 
“The world is to receive the light of truth through an 
evangelizing ministry of the Word in our books and 
periodicals.”— Id., vol. 9, p. 61. Just as the printed 
page occupied a very important place in the work of 
the Reformation of the Middle Ages, so to-day it is 
destined to exert a wonderful influence in the work of 
the reformation before the second coming of Christ. 
A wonderful variety of literature has been provided, 
clearly explaining God's truth for this time, in nearly 
every known tongue. As the layman’s missionary 
movement develops, and the forces of our lay member¬ 
ship are mobilized, we shall see the printed page scat¬ 
tered “like the leaves of autumn,” and the earth will 
be lightened with the glory of God. 

The aim and object of the General Conference Home 
Missionary Department may, therefore, be stated in 
brief as follows: To stimulate a layman’s missionary 
movement which shall reach to and speedily include 
every individual who has been separated from the 
world by the third angel’s message; calling “for a 
spiritual revival and a spiritual reformation”; rallying 
one and all to “unite their efforts with those of min¬ 
isters and church officers”; which shall result in the 
outpouring of God’s Spirit without measure, the loud 
cry of the third angel’s message, the speedy finishing 
of God’s work, and the long-expected “home coming” 
of the redeemed. 

The Relationship of the Home Missionary Department 
to the Organized Work of the Denomination 

The Home Missionary Department sustains a very 
vital relationship to our organized work throughout 


26 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

the world field, inasmuch as every new convert is a 
potential home missionary. The Home Missionary De¬ 
partment is therefore a distinctly cooperative organi¬ 
zation. It maintains its life and vitality through 
cooperation with all other departments of our organ¬ 
ized work. In a special sense, it may be termed the 
mainspring of denominational missionary activity. Its 
field of operation in the denominational organization 
is the local church; and by properly cultivating and 
developing the church in soul-winning effort, it con¬ 
tributes to the world-wide work a large part of the 
resources, both of workers and of finance, which are 
necessary for the advancement of the gospel. 

Elder A. G. Daniells, in referring to the scope of the 
work of the Home Missionary Department, made the 
following significant statement: “I believe the Home 
Missionary Department is going to help the other de¬ 
partments wonderfully. Let it touch the whole denomi¬ 
nation as it ought, and it will furnish more men for 
what we call the Publishing Department work, it will 
furnish material from which to draw for our colleges, 
and for workers in all lines.” 

The Home Missionary Department may be termed 
the channel through which the various missionary ac¬ 
tivities of the organized work reach the church. For 
example: Our publishing houses have been established 
in the providence of God as a means of helping to send 
the gospel message to the ends of the earth. Litera¬ 
ture has been provided in a large variety of forms and 
languages. But the printed page can most effectively 
reach the outside world as it is placed in the hands of 
the members of our churches; and the Home Mission¬ 
ary Department becomes the connecting link, thus 
making more effective the product of the publishing 
house. 

And still another example: The task of presenting 
the third angel's message to the approximately thirty 
million foreigners in North America rests primarily 







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28 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

with the General Conference Bureau of Home Mis¬ 
sions. This Bureau is operating with power and 
■ success. Literature containing the third angel’s mes¬ 
sage is furnished in twenty-seven languages, and this 
literature must be placed with twenty-five million 
foreigners who, it is claimed, cannot read or write 
English, as well as be passed on to the five or more 
million who are not confined to their mother tongue. 
But the reaching of these people with our literature, 
and in other lines of Christian ministry, cannot be 
accomplished by the Bureau of Home Missions alone, 
and the cooperation of the Home Missionary Depart¬ 
ment is called for. So urgent is the situation, that 
the Bureau of Home Missions feel that “twenty-five 
per cent of the knowledge and study that the Home 
Missionary Department gives to missionary work in 
this country ought to be devoted to the foreign work.” 
In the desire to cooperate with the Bureau of Home 
Missions, the Home Missionary Department has ap¬ 
pointed an assistant secretary to specialize in this line 
of work. The following recommendation passed by 
the Department in 1920 reveals the plan and policy 
in operation: 

“ Whereas, ‘God desires His servants to do their full 
duty toward the unwarned foreigners of this country, many 
of whom are here in the providence of God, that they may 
have opportunity to hear the truth for this time and re¬ 
ceive a preparation that will fit them to return to their 
own land as bearers of precious light shining direct from 
the throne of God;’ and — 

“ Whereas, There has been practically no organized ef¬ 
fort put forth in our English churches throughout the 
country to distribute literature and do other missionary 
work among these people; and — 

“Whereas, An organized effort should be carried on in 
all our churches, both English and foreign, to give the truth 
to these people of many tongues; — 

“We recommend, That strong, concentrated efforts be 
put forth by all our union and local conference home 
missionary secretaries to develop the foreign work within 
their respective fields,— 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 29 

“1. By gathering information and statistics regarding 
the population of foreigners in the conference, their na¬ 
tionality and location. 

“2. By giving proper consideration to the foreign¬ 
speaking people, according to their population, in the mis¬ 
sionary organization of every church. 

“3. By giving careful training to our church members 
on methods of missionary endeavor among these people in 
connection with the various conventions and institutes con¬ 
ducted in our churches.” 

Not only does the Home Missionary Department 
seek to cooperate with the various organized depart¬ 
ments of denominational work, but it purposes also to 
cooperate in every possible way with the ministry of 
the denomination in the work of evangelism. In con¬ 
nection with public efforts to reach masses in our cities, 
special training and practical experience in the art of 
soul-winning are given to the lay members; and when 
there is full cooperation between ministers, leaders, 
and laity, the results are most encouraging. The fol¬ 
lowing instruction is applicable to the training of 
workers in connection with the public efforts in charge 
of our ministers: “A well-balanced work can be carried 
on best when a training school for Bible workers is in 
progress. While the public meetings are being held, 
connected with this training school or city mission 
should be experienced laborers of deep spiritual under¬ 
standing, who can give the Bible workers daily instruc¬ 
tion, and who can also unite whole-heartedly in the 
general public effort being put forth. And as men and 
women are converted to the truth, those standing at 
the head of the city mission should with much prayer 
show these new converts how to experience the power 
of the truth in their lives. This united effort on the 
part of all the workers would be a nail driven in a sure 
place.”— “Testimonies” vol. 9, pp. Ill, 112. 

The success of the efforts of the Home Missionary 
Department lies not alone in cooperation with the min¬ 
istry, but equally in securing the cooperation of the 


30 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

ministry in behalf of training the laity in personal 
work. This is clearly stated in the following words: 
“In laboring where there are already some in the faith, 
the minister should at first seek not so much to convert 
unbelievers, as to train the church members for accept¬ 
able cooperation . Let him labor for them individually, 
endeavoring to arouse them to seek for a deeper ex¬ 
perience themselves, and to work for others. When 
they are prepared to sustain the minister by their 
prayers and labors, greater success will attend his 
efforts .”—“Gospel Workers ” p. 196. 

Thus it is apparent that the work of the ministry 
is closely associated with the layman’s missionary 
movement of the present day. The minister or evan¬ 
gelist and the members of the church, in cooperation, 
constitute the great evangelical force which God has 
ordained to carry the last warning message to the 
world. This twofold union is essential to the success 
of the work committed to this people; and without it, 
results in the winning of souls will be greatly re¬ 
stricted. 



James White Ellen G. White 

To Elder White came the instruction, “You must begin to print a little 
paper and send it out to the people.” 


II 

Origin and Salient Points in Review of the Work 
Prior to the Organization of the Department 

Birth of the Home Missionary Idea 

No organization or department of God’s cause has 
come about by chance. Since the dawn of creation, 
unmistakable are the evidences of the working out of 
the divine plan of the ages, and the cycle of time and 
events has moved with a precision controlled only by 
the Source of all system and order. 

The completion of the divine plan is certain. We 
are told that God “will finish the work, and cut it short 
in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord 
make upon the earth.” Rom. 9: 28. “The final move¬ 
ments will be rapid ones.”—“ Testimonies ,” vol. 9,p. 11. 
For the expediting of His work, God designs to make 

( 31 ) 






32 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

each of His children a channel of communication 
through which to reveal a knowledge of His saving 
truth to those of every kindred, tongue, and people. 
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power.” 
Ps. 110: 3. Not only willing, but usable; for a view of 
the activity manifested by God’s people was given to 
the psalmist and recorded: “The Lord gave the word: 
great was the company of those that published it.” 
Ps. 68:11. Daniel, viewing conditions “in the time of 
the end,” speaks of those who “turn many to right¬ 
eousness” as worthy of a rich reward soon to be be¬ 
stowed. (Dan. 12:3.) 

God’s ways are not man’s ways. “As the heavens 
are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than 
your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” 
Isa. 55: 9. The human way is to begin an undertaking 
with great proclamation and publicity, to announce 
everywhere that something great and decisive is about 
to transpire. But the working out of God’s plans is 
revealed through the simplest means and from appar¬ 
ently small beginnings. Yet in God’s sight, there is 
nothing small. He uses the weak things of the world 
to confound the mighty. 

When, at the close of the wonderful prophetic period 
of twenty-three hundred days, explained in Daniel 9 
and 10, the hour arrived for the proclamation of the 
first angel’s message of Revelation 14, which was to 
be increased in volume by the messages of the second 
and third angels, the facilities were provided, and will¬ 
ing people were available. 

In reference to the combined messages of these 
angels, we are told, “In a large degree through our 
publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of 
that other angel who comes down from heaven with 
great power, and who lightens the earth with his 
glory.”— Id., vol. 7, p. lhO. 

In the year 1848, publishing work in the interests 
of the third angel’s message had its beginning — a be- 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 33 

ginning which seemed a mere suggestion, but which 
carried with it the vital force of reality. To Elder 
James White came the instruction, “You must begin to 
print a little paper and send it out to the people;’’ and 
the divine assurance was given that from this small 
beginning, streams of light were to encircle the world. 
Thus was committed to human instrumentality work 
of a threefold nature — mental, technical, and manual; 
for the manuscript was to be prepared, the printing 
was to be done, and the sending forth of the printed 
page was to follow. 

From a human standpoint, it seemed that such a 
task was an impossibility. The faithless and unbeliev¬ 
ing remarked: “What! Three preachers, all penniless, 
with less than one hundred adherents, all of whom are 
destitute of money, going forth with a few hundred 
copies of a little paper, to give a warning message to 
all the world! Preposterous assumption!” But “all 
His biddings are enablings;” and faith and confidence 
in God withstood the onslaught of doubt and unbelief, 
and asserted with assurance, “In the name of Israel’s 
God it unll be done, and trusting in His strength it 
must be done!” 

In July, 1849, appeared the “little paper.” It was 
published in Middletown, Connecticut, and bore the 
name Present Truth. It consisted of eight pages, two 
columns each; and conspicuous on the front page was 
the statement, “Published semi-monthly — by James 
White.” The text of Scripture chosen as the motto 
of the publication was, “The secret of the Lord is with 
them that fear Him; and He will show them His cove¬ 
nant.” Ps. 25:14. 

The first edition consisted of one thousand copies, 
which were conveyed by Elder James White from the 
printing office in Middletown to his home in Rocky Hill, 
Connecticut; and when the precious bundle was de¬ 
posited in the center of the room, “a little group of 
interested ones were gathered in,” and all bowed 


3 


THE PRESENT TRUTH. 

PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY -BY JAMES WHITE 
Vol.l MIDDLETOWN, CONN JULY. 1849 No. I 


M The aecret of the Lord u vith thru* ihet fear him, 


" Whbeefobe, I will not be negligent 
to put you always in remembrance of these 
things, though ye know them, and be es¬ 
tablished in the PRESENT TRUTH.” 
4 Pet i 12. 

It is through the truth that souls are 
sanctified, and mado ready to enter the ev 
ertssting kingdom. Pbedietice to the troth 
wUl kill us to this world, that wo may be 
made alive, by faith in Jesus. 44 Sanctify 
them through thy truth, thy word is truth." 
John xvii 17. This was the prayer of 
Jesus. “I have no greater joy than to hear 
that'my children walk in truth.” 3 John iv. 

Error, darkens and fetters the mind, 
but the troth brings with it freedom, *nd 
gives light and life. True charity, or 
LOVE, “rejoiceth in the truth.” Cor. xiii 0. 
** Thy law is the truth.” Ps. cxix 142. 

D&tid describing the day of slaughter, 
when the pestilence shall walk in darkness, 
and destruction waste at noon-day, so that, 
•'a thousand shall fall at thy side and teu 
thousand at thy right hand,” says— 

7 Ho shall cover thee with his feathers, 
and upder his wings ahalt thou trust, bi» 
TRUTH shall be thy SHIELD and 
BUCKLER.” Pa xci 4. 

The storm is conning. War, famine and 
pestilence are already in the field of slaugh* 
ter. Now ia the Sii*e, :be only 
a shelter in the troth of the living God. 

In Peter's time there was present truth, 
or treth applicable to that present time. 
The Church have ever had a present truth. 
The present truth now, is that which shows 
present duty, and the right position for us 
who are about to witness the time of trouble, 
such as never was. Present truth must be 
oft repeated, even to those who are estab¬ 
lished in it This was needful ia the Apos¬ 
tles day, end it certainly is ne less important 
for as .who are living just before the close 
oI 

For months I have fell burdened with 
ti«e duty of writing, and publishing iho 
present truth for the scattered Dock , but 
the way bis not been opened for me to com 
the yorU and) now | tremble at 
<Ja* word of the Lord, and the importance 


>nd 5* «**U «hew then’ hie covenant * —fH. It, 


of this time. Whams done to spread the 
truth must be done quickly The four 
Angela aro holding the angry nations in 
check but a few days, until the saints are 
sealed, then die nations will rush, like Iho 
rushing of many waters. Then it will be too 
late to spread before precious souls, the 
\ -escot -*** iiig, living truths of the Holy 
Bie|e. My spirit t* drawn out after the 
scattered remnant May God help them to 
receive the truth, and be established in it 
May they haste to take shelter beneath 
the '‘covering of Almighty God,” ia my 
prayer 


Tht Weekly Sabbath Isurtittitad at 
Creation, and not at Sinai. 

4 ‘ And on the seventh day Goo ended 
Ins work which he had* made , aud be rest¬ 
ed on the seventh day from all his work 
which he had made. And Goo blessed the 
seventh day, and sanctified it because that 
in it he hAd rested from all bis work which 
Goo^creatod and made.” Gen. ii 2, 3. % 

Hero Goo instituted the weekly real or 
Sabbath. It wae the seventh day. He 
BLESSED and SANCTIFIED that day 
of the week, and no other, therefore the 
seventh day, and no other day of the 
ift&fcep, sanctified am*. 

God has given tho reason why be bless, 
ed and sanctified the seventh day M Be¬ 
cause that in it he had rested from all his 
work which Goo had created and roads." 
He rostod, and set the example for man. 
He blessed and sol apart tho seventh day 
for man to rest from his labor and follow 
tho example of his Creator The Lord of 
the Sabbath said. Mark ii 27 " The Sab 
bath was made for man ” Not for the 
Jew only, but for MAN, in iu broadest 
sense , meaning all mankind. The word 
man in this text, means the same as it does 
in tho following testa. " Man dial a 
born of a woman Is of fsw days and fall of 
trouble.” Job tiv 1 - Man bath down 

and riseth not, till the heavens be no mo* u 
Job ray * 12, 

No on# wiD aay that man m*--a 


In July, 1849, appeared the “little paper,” of which 1,000 

copies were printed. 


( 34 ) 














The Layman's Missionary Movement 35 

around, “asking the Lord, with humble hearts and 
many tears, to let His blessing rest upon the feeble 
efforts of His servants.” The papers were then 
wrapped separately for the mail, and addressed to all 
who it was thought would read them. Each succeed¬ 
ing issue received the same attention, and “very soon 
letters came bringing the good news of many souls 
embracing the truth.” 

Such was the first home missionary effort put forth 
by the believers in the third angel’s message; and it 
marks the beginning of mighty activity that was later 
destined to be organized and developed in due propor¬ 
tion to all branches of the Lord’s work. 

Literature in the form of periodicals, pamphlets, 
and tracts, developed in rapid succession following the 
publication of Present Truth; and this literature was 
largely used by the ministers of the denomination in 
connection with their public work. But the divine plan 
embraced the use of the truth-filled literature in a 
much broader field. Through the ever-widening chan¬ 
nel of literature production, the rank and file of the 
church — the lay members — were to find their way 
into the harvest field, and prepare the soil and sow 
the seed for the production of a rich harvest in later 
years. 

In the year 1869, there rested down upon a small 
company of believers in the South Lancaster (Massa¬ 
chusetts) church, a burden to begin a systematic plan 
of sending papers and tracts by post to persons who 
they thought might be interested in the truth and 
whom it seemed they could not reach in any other way. 
The sending forth of this literature was accompanied 
by much prayer, and closely followed with personal 
letters. This company of workers, ten in number, was 
known as “the Vigilant Missionary Society,”—a term 
duly significant, for it was no half-hearted, spasmodic 
effort which these workers put forth. 


36 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

How the Work Was Carried On 

The following bit of history concerning the organi¬ 
zation and work of the Vigilant Missionary Society is 
furnished by Elder S. N. Haskell, who was a close ob¬ 
server of the efforts put forth and the results obtained, 
and who, because of his developing a strong missionary 
movement throughout the denomination in the early 
days, has been called “the father of the tract society 
work”: 

“It was due to the earnest pleadings of Brother and 
Sister White that I conceived the idea of trying to do 
something by an organized effort. A few of the sisters 
in South Lancaster, Mass., came together, and we or¬ 
ganized them into what was called ‘the Vigilant Mis¬ 
sionary Society,’ with Mrs. Roxa Rice as president, and 
Mrs. Mary L. Priest as secretary. It was not the ex¬ 
pectation that the brethren should join this society. 
It was agreed that they might be permitted to pay 
money into the society, but it was thought that the 
brethren were too busy to engage in such missionary 
work. 

“The meetings of the Vigilant Missionary Society 
were held each Wednesday afternoon at three o’clock, 
at which time the members would report what they 
had done during the week. Their plan was for each to 
visit a portion of the neighborhood during the week, 
carrying with them tracts on different subjects. As 
they visited the people and found an interest in any 
particular subject, they were prepared to emphasize 
the truths stated by leaving a tract on the subject. All 
who engaged in the work were bound together by ties 
of unity and sympathy; and when any of the members 
moved to other parts of the country, they continued 
to work, and sent in reports to the Vigilant Missionary 
Society. There was thus developed an extensive corre¬ 
spondence, which necessitated the appointment of a 
correspondence agent. The duty of this correspond¬ 
ence agent was to report cases to the society, and the 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 37 

members would write letters and send tracts to these 
individuals. These correspondence agents not only 
sent in names of those who did not know the truth, but 
also of members of the church in different places, who 
were in need of help. They did not give publicity to 
the fact that they were making lists of names of dis¬ 
couraged people, or those otherwise in need of help and 
encouragement; but in passing the names on, sufficient 
information was given to enable the correspondent to 
write intelligently. It thus came about that individuals 
would receive letters from persons unknown to them, 
possibly living a thousand miles distant, each letter 
adapted to the existing condition, as if a personal ac¬ 
quaintanceship existed. This seemed a very wonderful 
coincidence. Those who were backslidden, or discour¬ 
aged, or bitterly opposed to the truth, would be made 
special subjects of prayer, and marvelous results 
were seen.” 

Every Wednesday afternoon, at three o’clock, there 
was a faithful attendance of the members of the Vigi¬ 
lant Missionary Society at the missionary meeting and 
prayer service. The absent members of the society 
kept the appointment in their own homes. In later 
years, one of the charter members of the society was 
confined to her home by illness, but this did not cause 
her to cease her missionary activities. A steady 
stream of literature ebbed from her home. “I remem¬ 
ber,” writes an acquaintance, “near the close of her 
life, when she was unable to leave her bed, she would 
have a young girl from the school come in to wrap 
and address the Signs and write missionary letters at 
her dictation. She took a deep interest in the young 
people who came to the South Lancaster school, and 
endeavored to correspond with those who she felt 
needed spiritual help after they left South Lancaster.” 

Results Obtained 

The mailing of literature and the correspondence 
work broadened until it reached England, Scotland, and 


38 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

wherever the English language is spoken. Those en¬ 
gaged in the work became so enthusiastic over the 
possibilities in this home missionary work, that they 
began the study of French and German, and other 
languages. In a short time, people of different nation¬ 
alities began to embrace the truth; and they in turn 
began to correspond with friends, many of whom were 
in the Old Country. In this way, a live interest sprang 
up in Europe; and the leaders who established the work 
there, stated that the churches and companies organ¬ 
ized were the result of the interest first awakened by 
correspondence from friends in America. 

Many interesting experiences might be related 
showing how the signal blessing of the Lord rested 
upon the efforts of these pioneer home missionary 
workers. One of these workers writes: 

“As a result of my efforts that first summer, one of 
the ten persons I had been corresponding with began 
the observance of the Sabbath. Encouraged by this 
result, I increased my list by five names. But a few 
months later I became somewhat discouraged, and con¬ 
cluded I had made a mistake in taking these papers, 
and that after all, I was not the person to engage in 
this kind of work; and I tried to think of some one 
better fitted for the work, to whom I could give the 
papers. I had no more than decided on a certain per¬ 
son, when the words, ‘Be not weary in well-doing,’ so 
impressed my mind, that I deferred writing to her. 
Soon after, I received a postal card from one of the 
individuals to whom I had been sending papers, asking 
for tracts on the Sabbath question. To be brief, as a 
result of that effort, forty persons accepted the truth. 
A number of those to whom I had been writing and 
sending papers, and who had manifested an interest 
in our publications, I had entirely lost trace of until 
some minister or worker in our missions would inform 
me of their having accepted these truths.” 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 39 

These pioneer workers were ever watching for op¬ 
portunities to promote missionary work, as is illus¬ 
trated by the following experience: “At one time, I 
saw in a paper an article from a lady in Kansas, re¬ 
questing religious reading. The article was signed 
simply as ‘P/ I felt impressed to secure the address in 
some way; and after praying for guidance in the mat¬ 
ter, I sent a note, addressed according to all the infor¬ 
mation I could obtain. A prompt reply to my note was 
received, and I began mailing our papers to her. I 
soon received word that the lady was deeply interested 
in the papers, and special information was desired con¬ 
cerning the second coming of our Lord. I forwarded 
tracts on this subject, and also inclosed a tract on 
the Sabbath question. Four weeks later, this lady and 
three others were observing the Sabbath of the Lord. 
In the course of two or three years, the number in¬ 
creased until there was quite a company of command¬ 
ment keepers, and a church building was erected.” 

As an indication of how the work grew and was 
conducted on a larger scale, we quote the following 
from the experience of a corresponding secretary 
when the promotion of missionary activities through¬ 
out the denomination was carried on under the caption 
of “the International Tract Society”: 

“While working in the International Tract Society 
office at Battle Creek, Michigan, I secured a roster of 
the United States consuls and ministers in other lands, 
and sent them samples of the literature we were cir¬ 
culating, with a request that they would give me 
addresses of persons who would be interested in cir¬ 
culating such literature, or of reading rooms where 
the papers might be placed on file. In reply to this 
letter sent to the consuls, I received more than one 
thousand three hundred addresses of public libraries, 
Y. M. C. A. reading rooms, sailors’ homes, missionaries 
of all denominations, etc., in all the countries to which 
I wrote, except two — Cuba and the Philippine Islands. 


40 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

The Cuban consul wrote that no one could be found 
who would dare distribute Protestant literature on 
shore in Cuba, though it might be handed to sailors 
in the harbor; and in the Philippine Islands, not even 
that was allowable. The Signs was sent to library 
reading rooms in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and 
to Catholic countries in Europe; but none to these 
islands. In a few short years came the Spanish War, 
when the islands came directly under the supervision 
of the United States government. God’s hand had 
intervened to give these people His last warning 
message, and how eagerly it is being received in the 
Philippines! This seemed to me a wonderful provi¬ 
dence.” 

The Vigilant Missionary Society was the acorn of 
the mighty oak of later years, whose branches were to 
extend far in many directions, and prove a bulwark of 
strength in the establishment and promotion of the 
cause of God in its closing work. The uniting of all 
church members for missionary work led to the merg¬ 
ing of the Vigilant Missionary Society into an organi¬ 
zation known as the tract society. In 1870, the first 
conference tract society was organized, known as “the 
Missionary and Tract Society of the New England 
Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,” the president 
of the society being Elder S. N. Haskell. This plan 
was quickly put into effect in various conferences; and 
in 1873, “the General Conference Tract and Missionary 
Society of Seventh-day Adventists” was organized. A 
few years later, in 1882, an organization known as the 
International Tract Society came into existence, with 
headquarters at Battle Creek, Michigan. Elder S. N. 
Haskell, having served as president of the General 
Conference Tract and Missionary Society from the 
time of the organization, with Miss Maria L. Huntley 
as secretary, these officers were reelected for continued 
service with the International Tract Society. As the 
name implied, the work now took on international pro- 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 


41 


portions, and the reports throughout the succeeding 
years show steady advance in membership, activities, 
and lines of work. 

The organ of the International Tract Society was 
known as the Home Missionary, at one time an eight 
page monthly publication, and later became a twenty- 
four page journal, devoted exclusively to instruction 
on all phases of home missionary work, reports, read¬ 
ings for the churches on the fourth Sabbath of each 
month, etc. As the missionary activities of the de¬ 
nomination extended to foreign fields and rapidly 
secured substantial footing, the Home Missionary be¬ 
came a connecting link between the missionary workers 
at home and those in foreign fields. 

When the Foreign Mission Board of Seventh-day 
Adventists was organized, a few years later, the Inter¬ 
national Tract Society became a branch of this organi¬ 
zation; and in 1897, both organizations transferred 
their headquarters from Battle Creek, Michigan, to 
Philadelphia. A short time thereafter, their head¬ 
quarters were again moved, this time to New York 
City, which was a more convenient point in arranging 
for the sending forth of the ever-increasing number of 
home missionaries into the foreign fields. Special at¬ 
tention was given to the placing of our literature on 
ocean-going vessels. The faithful workers, known as 
“ship missionaries,” were kept constantly employed at 
this work, and the result of their seed-sowing has ap¬ 
peared in numerous and unexpected places. 

Under the direction of the Foreign Mission Board, 
the name of the Home Missionary was changed to the 
Missionary Magazine, a journal of forty-eight pages, 
still giving instruction and programs for missionary 
meetings, but placing special emphasis upon the mi¬ 
raculous openings in foreign fields and to plans for 
meeting them. The nine bound volumes of the Home 
Missionary from 1889-1901, which are carefully pre- 


42 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

served in the vault at the General Conference office at 
Takoma Park, Washington, D. C., furnish an invalu¬ 
able encyclopedia of missionary information. On the 
editorial staff during these years, we find the familiar 
names of A. 0. Tait, F. M. Wilcox, D. H. Kress, B. G. 
Wilkinson, L. T. Nicola, J. E. Jayne. 

Concerning the change in the missionary periodical, 
and its field of operation, the following editorial notice 
appeared in the Missionary Magazine of January, 1898: 

“With this issue, the Home Missionary , somewhat 
changed in form, and under the name of the Missionary 
Magazine , enters upon its tenth volume. According to 
an arrangement by the General Conference, it is to be 
the official organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Foreign 
Mission Board, and will be published in Philadelphia, 
where that Board now has its headquarters. Other¬ 
wise, the Home Missionary and the Missionary Maga¬ 
zine are identical. News from the same workers and 
the same fields will continue to appear in its columns; 
the same readers will scan its pages and linger upon 
its words; the prayers of the same earnest persons will 
continue to ascend to God in its behalf; and the same 
consecrated individuals who have ever been its patrons 
will continue to sustain it, and rejoice in its prosperity. 

“The Missionary ever has been, and always must 
continue to be, the faithful representative of the for¬ 
eign mission work of the Seventh-day Adventists. 
This is no small task. Other denominations are ear¬ 
nestly endeavoring to evangelize the world in this 
generation. No people have more clearly defined ideas 
upon this subject than do those whom the Missionary 
Magazine represents. The ‘gospel of the kingdom’ in 
its fullness and power, under the message of the ‘third 
angel,’ must be preached with a ‘loud cry’ to ‘every 
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,’ before we 
shall see the face of the King in His beauty. The signs 
of His soon coming have appeared, and this generation 
will behold the world-wide proclamation of the gospel 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 43 

‘for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end 
come.’ . . . 

“The work of the Seventh-day Adventist Foreign 
Mission Board is simply the work which the Lord is 
doing in foreign lands through the Seventh-day Ad¬ 
ventist Church. Therefore every faithful member of 
that church is intimately connected with and intensely 
interested in the work of this Board; and a failure to 
be well informed concerning its operations is to be 
unacquainted with the progress of the message in other 
lands, and unable to relate ourselves to it correctly. 
We cannot afford to be thus. ... In presenting the 
characteristics and needs of all fields, and the progress 
of the gospel therein, the Missionary Magazine will 
continue to pursue the same progressive policy which 
has ever placed it among the foremost exponents of 
our missionary operation, to the end that it may ever 
conform to the spirit and needs of our time, and be 
characterized by a combination, in happy proportion, 
of those elements which make a well-rounded and 
evenly balanced missionary magazine, calculated to in¬ 
spire earnestness and unity in our present efforts to 
extend the gospel.” 

As the work of the Seventh-day Adventist denomi¬ 
nation grew in magnitude, the general plan of organi¬ 
zation was adapted to meet the requirements, until a 
somewhat complicated network of organized plans were 
in operation. In 1901, in harmony with the counsel of 
the Lord through the spirit of prophecy, steps were 
taken to simplify the general plan of organization. 
The plain instruction was: “What we want now is re¬ 
organization. We want to begin at the foundation and 
build upon a different principle.” As a result, all 
separate associations were disbanded and formed into 
General Conference departments, and the six General 
Conference districts were organized into union confer¬ 
ences, each to superintend groups of local conferences, 
all with a view to decentralization and the distribution 


44 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

of responsibility. Such general departments of the 
organized work as the Sabbath School Department, the 
Religious Liberty, Publishing, Educational, and Medi¬ 
cal departments, passed through the reorganization 
period in safety; but the International Tract Society, 
as a separate organization, was swallowed up by other 
organizations, all of which naturally fostered its in¬ 
terests to a greater or less extent. 

A very close affiliation necessarily existed between 
the International Tract Society and the Publishing 
Department, as each was dependent on the other; and 
as the publishing work increased in size and strength, 
the literature feature of missionary work received 
special prominence. Before long, the missionary or¬ 
ganization of the denomination became, as one ex¬ 
pressed it, “tucked into the vest pocket of the Pub¬ 
lishing Department.” 

It must not, however, be concluded that this sub¬ 
sidiary position meant the death of denominational 
missionary activities. Not by any means! The faith¬ 
ful workers in the churches were ever ready to respond 
to calls for service from all quarters — the Medical 
Missionary Board asked for much help along the line 
of Christian help work; the Foreign Mission Board 
needed much assistance in corresponding and sending 
literature to open up the work in new fields; the Sab¬ 
bath School Department needed the support of the 
home missionaries in gathering the children into mis¬ 
sion Sabbath schools and following up the interest in 
homes; the Religious Liberty Department needed sup¬ 
port in counteracting the influences of opposing forces 
so zealously antagonistic to true principles of liberty; 
and the Publishing Department — what could this De¬ 
partment do without the help of the members of the 
church in taking clubs of periodicals for missionary 
work, selling literature of all varieties, scattering the 
printed page of truth on the streets, in the shops, on 
the ships, in jails, hospitals, libraries, and everywhere! 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 45 

It seemed to be an accepted fact that every church 
member was in the harness for Christian service in all 
lines, hence it was unnecessary to have special workers 
devoting time to creating a cooperative interest. The 
churches were regarded as constituting the missionary 
societies of the denomination; and any department 
sending out a call for help, received a ready response 
from the faithful lay members. 

Such was the situation with reference to the home 
missionary work of the denomination for a period of 
twelve years; but year after year made it more appar- 






New York harbor boat “Liberty,” used in placing our literature on 
board ocean-going vessels. 


ent that there was need of a revival of a strong mis¬ 
sionary organization, through which to develop the lay 
members into successful workers and leaders, so that 
through a trained, united, and consecrated body of 
believers, every individual standing at his post and 
doing his duty, the loud cry of the third angel’s mes¬ 
sage would be proclaimed. 

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain 
is the constant expectation of the remnant church; but 
“the great, outpouring of the Spirit of God, which 
lightens the whole earth with His glory, will not come 
until we have an enlightened people, that know by ex- 


46 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

perience what it means to be laborers together with 
God. When we have entire, whole-hearted consecration 
to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by 
an outpouring of His Spirit without measure; but this 
will not be while the largest portion of the church 
are not laborers together with God .”—“Review and 
Herald ,” July 21, 1896. '‘The church must become a 
training center. From among its members capable 
workers must be developed.” “The church of Christ 
is organized for service. . . . Every church member 
should be engaged in some line of service for the Mas¬ 
ter. . . . Many would be willing to work if they were 
taught how to begin. . . . Every church should be a 
training school for Christian workers .”—“Ministry of 
Healing,” pp. 1U8, 11*9. 

Such instruction, many times repeated by the serv¬ 
ant of the Lord, clearly indicated the advance step to 
be taken in organization for the enlisting of every lay 
member for the finishing of the work. 


Ill 

Organization of the Work into a Department 
of the General Conference 

When and How Accomplished 

At the General Conference of 1913, held in Takoma 
Park, Washington, D. C., an action was taken which 
reinstated the church missionary work on a distinct de¬ 
partmental footing. The action is recorded as follows: 

“We recommend, That home missionary secretaries, 
for both the General Conference and the North Ameri¬ 
can Division Conference, be appointed for the promo¬ 
tion of the church missionary work. The duty of the 
secretaries shall be to cooperate with our conferences 
and missions, each in his own field, in building up the 
church tract and missionary work,— 

“a. By developing such practical plans and simple 
instruction as will unite all our churches in a general 
missionary movement. 

“ b . By the publication, through the medium of 
church and conference papers, and personal and cir¬ 
cular letters, of such missionary reports and experi¬ 
ences as will lead our people everywhere to appreciate 
their opportunities and stir themselves to greater 
activity.” 

In harmony with the foregoing action, secretaries 
were appointed at once to take charge of this line of 
work. Miss Edith Graham, an experienced worker 
along tract and missionary lines in connection with the 
work in Australia, having come to America to attend 
the General Conference, was chosen to act as general 
secretary of the Home Missionary Department of the 
General Conference; and as an assistant, Elder F. W. 
Paap was elected as home missionary secretary for the 
North American Division Conference. 

With a true perspective of conditions in the field 
and the demand of the hour, these secretaries laid plans 

(47) 


48 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

wide and deep for missionary organization in all 
churches. In the local churches, secretaries were ap¬ 
pointed, designated as church home missionary secre¬ 
taries. A missionary committee was created in each 
church, as far as possible, whose duty was designated 
“to superintend the general missionary plans and pro¬ 
grams of the church,” and also to plan for the work so 
that every member should be enlisted in some line of 
missionary service. “This committee should consist 
of the elder or missionary leader; the assistant leader, 
who in most cases is the leader of the Young People’s 
Society in the church; the church missionary secretary, 
or secretary of the Young People’s Society; the Sab¬ 
bath school superintendent; and the leaders of mission¬ 
ary bands and classes organized in the church.” Home 
missionary secretaries were also appointed in each 
conference, to assist the church home missionary sec¬ 
retaries in the conference; and union conference home 
missionary secretaries were appointed to look after 
the general interests of the work in each of the twelve 
unions of North America. 

How the Work Was Carried On 

As explained in preceding paragraphs, the mission¬ 
ary organization of the denomination was placed on a 
well-organized basis by the secretaries appointed in 
1913. This organization extended from the General 
Conference department to the individual in the small¬ 
est church in the remotest part of the field. The plan 
of organization may be comprehensively divided as 
follows: 

1. General Conference Home Missionary Depart¬ 
ment. 

2. Home Missionary Department of the North 
American Division. 

3. Union Conference Home Missionary Department. 

4. Local Conference Home Missionary Department. 

5. Church missionary secretaries. 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 49 

6. Church missionary leaders and missionary com¬ 
mittee. 

7. The individual development of specified lines of 
missionary work. 

Through the entire field, there was a ready response 
to the plans set in operation by the General Conference 
Home Missionary Department, it being evident that 
the general missionary movement thus put into opera¬ 
tion was designed of the Lord to call His people back 
to the plans for the tract and missionary work in the 
early days. “It is very interesting to us to see,” wrote 
Sister Graham, “that the plans which are being fol¬ 
lowed by the General Conference and North American 
Division Home Missionary departments are substan¬ 
tially the same as those advocated in the beginning of 
this line of work. We have looked up the records of 
the early history of this Department, and can see 
clearly that the Spirit of the Lord is guiding minds 
now to follow the very same principles that were laid 
down then. We should all be encouraged by knowing 
that we are building our present work on the old solid 
foundation.” 

In further reference to the work, Sister Graham 
wrote: “Our work is now organized somewhat differ¬ 
ently from the way it was in the early days; for, in¬ 
stead of having each line of work run as a separate 
organization, each independent of the other, all are now 
departments of the conference, under the direction of 
the conference committee. But the purposes and plans 
of the various divisions of the work have not been 
changed by this different relation to the conferences. 
The tract and missionary work is now a department of 
each conference, under the general direction of the 
conference committee. Connected with it is the col¬ 
porteur work, under the direction of the field mission¬ 
ary secretary. The office is under the direction of the 
tract society secretary; and in connection with his 
office work, he has a responsibility for building up the 


4 


50 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

home missionary work in the churches and among the 
isolated members. In some cases, an additional sec¬ 
retary is appointed to give all or part of his time to 
supervising and enlarging the work of the church 
members. In all but the smaller conferences, these 
home missionary secretaries are necessary, because of 
the need there is for enlisting every church member in 
active service. To do this, and to keep the members at 
work, means much energetic personal supervision. ,, 

The need of suitable home missionary literature be¬ 
came at once apparent; and there was prepared by 
Miss Graham and sent into the field at large a compre¬ 
hensive “Home Missionary Manual,” which proved a 
great aid in organizing the home missionary work in 
the conferences and the churches on a uniform and 
permanent basis. A series of “Lessons for Home Mis¬ 
sionary Institutes” was also prepared, for the purpose 
of giving instruction in regard to the duties of mis¬ 
sionary leaders and secretaries and the organization 
of churches for missionary work, and information con¬ 
cerning the various lines of aggressive missionary 
work by which the church may act its part in the last 
great conflict. 

A series of leaflets was prepared, known as “the 
Home Missionary Series,” the numbers ranging from 
1 to 19, under the following titles: 

1. The Relation of the Church Members to the Finish¬ 

ing of the Work. 

2. Organization of Churches for Home Missionary 

Work. 

3. The Missionary Meeting. 

4. Reporting: Why and How. 

5. The Duties of the Church Missionary Secretary. 

6. The Best Methods for Winning Souls. 

7. The Use of Tracts. 

8. How to Use Periodicals in Soul-Winning Campaign. 

9. Magazines — Their Place in God’s Work. 

10. Small Books as Soul-Winners. 

11. Missionary Correspondence. 

12. The Home Foreign Mission Field. 

13. The Spirit of Service. 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 51 

14. Earning Money for Missions. 

15. The Business Side of the Home Missionary Work. 

16. Bible Work. 

17. A Mischievous Error. 

18. The Place of Prayer in Missionary Work. 

19. The Work of the Church. 

These leaflets were widely scattered and large quan¬ 
tities were in demand. Some were translated into 
different languages for use in foreign countries. Sev¬ 
eral numbers have since been added to the list as here 
given, and the list is destined to grow. 

To the list of denominational periodicals, there was 
added the Church Officers' Gazette , appearing monthly, 
its mission being of the same nature as the Home Mis¬ 
sionary and Missionary Magazine of former years. 
For some years prior to the appearance of the Gazette, 
there had been published in Australia the Australasian 
Record and the Missionary Leader; in the British field, 
there appeared the Missionary Worker; and in South 
Africa, the South African Missionary. These periodi¬ 
cals are devoted to the missionary activities in the 
respective fields, and are still doing excellent work. 

As the home missionary organization of 1913 
sounded the depth of missionary life in all parts of 
the organized field, it was indeed encouraging to find 
that the seed sown broadcast in the early years had 
produced a rich harvest, and that believers in the third 
angel’s message everywhere were inspired with the 
same zeal to do their part in passing on the gospel, 
that possessed those pioneer workers. In Australia 
and Great Britain, earnest work had been done along 
missionary lines in later years by the local constitu¬ 
ency; and in these countries, as well as in all other 
parts of the world where the truth had secured a foot¬ 
ing, it was only necessary to outline the plans of the 
Department to secure hearty cooperation. This re¬ 
quired voluminous correspondence, which was largely 
conducted by Miss Graham, with the aid of her able 


52 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

office assistants, Miss Lizzie Gregg and Miss Thyra 
Sandberg. It was necessary for Elder Paap to spend 
most of his time in the field, by personal effort estab¬ 
lishing the work throughout the twelve unions of 
North America. 

A New Organization of Close Affiliation 

In the early days of missionary activity by the de¬ 
nomination, the working force consisted of mature 
men and women, who, having been called from dark¬ 
ness into light, were impelled, by the vision of the 
great need, to volunteer willing service in whatever 
line was presented to them. To be sure, the younger 
members of the church were included; but the part 
which children and youth were designed of the Lord 
to act in His closing work was not the burden of the 
hour. It remained for later years to reveal the results 
of neglect to train the young people for Christian 
service. In 1896, one of the corresponding secretaries 
of the International Tract Society expressed the follow¬ 
ing, which indicates a recognized need in this respect: 
“Formerly the society had quite a goodly representa¬ 
tion of life members; but many of these, after lives of 
faithfulness in the cause they loved, have fallen asleep. 
Others have grown old in the work, so that at the 
present time, our International Tract Society mem¬ 
bership is not representative of our active working 
force, most of our young people never having had their 
attention especially called to the importance of becom¬ 
ing members and actively engaging in this branch of 
our general work.” 

In 1892, a call came from the servant of 'the Lord, 
then in Melbourne, Australia, to set in operation plans 
for the training of the Seventh-day Adventist youth, 
which would hold them in the truth and make them 
soul-winners. For a number of years previous to this, 
the Spirit of the Lord had been impressing individuals 
in different parts of the world that something special 


The Layman*s Missionary Movement 53 

should be done for the young people of the denomina¬ 
tion ; but no definite policy had been adopted. As early 
as 1879, a society of young people was organized at 
Hazelton, Michigan. This was the result of a burden 
felt by two lads in their teens, who “went to a corner 
in the field and told the Lord about their plans.” 

We are told that “with the exception of a few other 
places where spasmodic and fragmentary work was 
done in behalf of the youth, the overseers of the flock 
paid but little attention to the training of the youth in 
the churches, and the real problem of saving our own 
young people in the kingdom of God and to the Mas¬ 
ter’s service seemed not to be recognized at all as a 
problem.” In this as in other great matters, the Lord, 
through the spirit of prophecy, pointed out the neglect 
and the remedy. The instruction received from Sister 
White at this time was as follows: 

“We have an army of youth to-day who can do much 
if they are properly directed and encouraged. We 
want our children to believe the truth. We want them 
to be blessed of God. We want them to act a part in 
well-organized plans for helping other youth. Let all 
be so trained that they may rightly represent the truth, 
giving the reason of the hope that is within them, and 
honoring God in any branch of the work where they 
are qualified to labor. 

“Young men and women, cannot you form com¬ 
panies, and, as soldiers of Christ, enlist in the work, 
putting all your tact and skill and talent into the 
Master’s service, that you may save souls from ruin? 
Let there be companies organized in every church to 
do this work. 

“Let there be a company formed somewhat after the 
order of the Christian Endeavor Society, and see what 
can be done by each accountable human agent in watch¬ 
ing for and improving opportunities to do work for the 
Master. He has a vineyard in which every one can 


54 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

perform good work. Suffering humanity needs help 
everywhere.” 

Slowly the work in behalf of denominational young 
people took root along the lines suggested, being fos¬ 
tered by the Sabbath School Department; but not until 
the year 1907 was it decided to “create a department 
whose workers would give their entire time to the 
great work of saving the young people.” 

At the General Conference Council held at Gland, 
Switzerland, early in the spring of 1907, the following 
resolution was passed: 

“Whereas, The special blessing of God has attended 
the efforts among our young people put forth under the 
fostering care of the Sabbath School Department, until 
it has grown to such an extent that it is difficult for 
this Department to give this work the attention and 
help which it needs; therefore,— 

“Resolved, That, in order that this work may be 
properly developed, and thus an army of workers be 
properly trained for service, a special department, with 
the necessary officers, be created, the same to be known 
as the Young People’s Department of the General 
Conference.” 

At this time, M. E. Kern was elected chairman of 
this Young People’s Department, and Matilda Erickson 
secretary. Associated with these officers was a com¬ 
mittee of twenty members, representative of the Gen¬ 
eral Conference, the Sabbath School Department, and 
the Educational and the Home Missionary departments. 

A few months after the Gland Council closed, a con¬ 
vention of workers convened in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, to 
consider Sabbath school and young people’s problems, 
and new and larger plans were laid. At this time, the 
permanent name of the organization was voted to be, 
Seventh-day Adventist Young People’s Society of Mis¬ 
sionary Volunteers. Among other fundamentals of 
this organization is recorded “making church member¬ 
ship a prerequisite to membership in the society,” and 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 55 

the recommendation of “a missionary committee in 
each church to direct in a general way the work of 
the Missionary Volunteer and the Home Missionary 
Society/’ 

The time was ripe for such an organization, and 
Seventh-day Adventist young people quickly rallied to 
the call; and to the church there has come no greater 
asset in possibilities and results. 

In 1913, at the time of the reestablishment of the 
church missionary activities as a department, with a 
defined scope of operations, the Seventh-day Adventist 
Young People’s Society of Missionary Volunteers had 
far advanced from a state of infancy and feebleness, 
and was recognized as a permanent feature of denomi¬ 
national work, enjoying the unstinted cooperation of 
workers everywhere. Many phases of helpful contact 
with young people radiated from this organization, 
extending over the world field. Its distinguishing 
features were twofold in nature — devotional and edu¬ 
cational; and these were rightly considered “largely 
means to an end,”—the end being a well-developed, 
well-trained army of young people for the Lord’s serv¬ 
ice. Consequently the missionary activities of the 
church entered largely into the structure of this new 
organization; and under the wise and tactful leader¬ 
ship of its officers, all lines of missionary work carried 
on by the adults were adapted to the experience of 
various stages of youth. In this particular respect, the 
Home Missionary Department and the Missionary Vol¬ 
unteer Department are inseparably connected; and 
by closest cooperation and Christian fellowship, the 
strength of both is greatly augmented. 

Results Achieved to Date 

The work of the Home Missionary Department has 
made steady progress throughout the world field since 
its establishment in 1913. The foundation principles 
of its organization were wisely and firmly laid, and 



have stood the test of experience. The keynote of the 
missionary organization, as stated by Sister Graham, 
is: “We desire to find ways for making our churches 
the training schools for gospel workers which the Lord 
says they should be. Above all, we desire that there 
may be kept prominently before the members the un¬ 
derlying motive of the work,— that the Spirit of Christ 
in the heart is revealed in service to the souls for whom 
He died.” 

The death of Sister Graham in July, 1918, and the 
resignation of Elder Paap, which followed soon after, 
placed the work of the Department in other hands. It 
was with much difficulty that the vacancies caused by 
the removal of these faithful workers were filled. He 
who knows the heart of His children, places the mantle 
of service where He will, and gives the needed strength 
for the seemingly impossible task. An action taken at 



( 56 ) 







the General Conference of 1918 resulted in the discon¬ 
tinuance of the North American Division of the Gen¬ 
eral Conference, and consequently the two divisions of 
the home missionary organization were combined. 
Elder C. V. Leach was elected secretary of the General 
Conference Home Missionary Department, and Elder 
H. K. Christman assistant secretary. 

When the work was taken up where it had been left 
by the former leaders, the organization already re¬ 
ferred to, extending from the General Conference 
Home Missionary Department to union conference, 
local conference, and church, was found to be quite 
largely established throughout the field; but it was 
evident that the next step to be taken was to make this 
model system of organization operative to a larger de¬ 
gree, which suggested the need for a strong program 
of education. 



“Thy people shall be willing in 
the day of Thy power.” Many 
such scenes as this, where the 
whole church is organized and 
territory districted, and tens of 
thousands receive truth-filled 
literature in a day, will charac¬ 
terize the finishing of the work 
on earth. 


( 57 ) 










58 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

The scope of the home missionary activities was 
well outlined under sixteen general divisions, as 
follows: 

Letters written. 

Letters received. 

Missionary visits (personal work). 

Bible readings or cottage meetings held. 

Subscriptions taken for periodicals. 

Papers and magazines sold. 

Papers and magazines mailed, lent, or given away. 

Books sold. 

Books lent or given away. 

Tracts sold. 

Tracts lent or given away. 

Hours of Christian help work. 

Articles of clothing given away. 

Number of meals provided. 

Treatments given. 

Signers obtained to temperance pledge. 

A comprehensive reporting system was in force, and 
statistical records were compiled. The literature com¬ 
prising the Home Missionary Series, and articles ap¬ 
pearing in the denominational papers, were replete 
with practical instruction. On every hand, the people 
were willing and eager to engage in the Master’s serv¬ 
ice. The beauty and force of the psalmist’s words were 
often recalled: “Thy people shall be willing in the day 
of Thy power.” The problem of the hour was the 
giving of instruction which would attach the willing 
worker to the task to be accomplished, and make the 
practical demonstration of organization principles. 

In September, 1918, for the first time in the history 
of the home missionary movement, the union confer¬ 
ence secretaries met in a home missionary convention, 
which gave opportunity for a week’s exclusive study 
of home missionary problems. This convention marked 
a new era in the layman’s missionary movement of the 
Seventh-day Adventist denomination, and established 
the convention plan as a permanent feature of the 
Department. 


Home Missionary Report of 


Conference 


"tr- ■ ■■ ~ 

1st Quarter 

1st Quarter 

2nd Quarter 

2nd Quarter 

I. Number of Churches 
and Companies 

192 

192 

192 

192 





2. Number of Churches 
Reporting 






3. Membership of 

Churches 

4. Number of Persons 

Reporting 

5 Churches Holding Week¬ 
ly Missionary Meetings 

6. Churches Holding 
4th SabbathService 

7. Letters Written 

8. Letters Received 


9. 

Missionary Visits 

10. 

Bible Readings or 
Cottage Meetings 

11. 

Subscriptions 
for Periodicals 

12. 

Papers Sold 

13 

**apers Mailed, Lent or 
Given Away 

14. 

Books Sold 

15. 

Books Lent 
or Given Away 

16. 

Tracts Sold 

17. 

Tracts Lent or Given 
Away 

18. 

Hours of Christian 
Help Work 

19. 

Articles of Clothing 
Given Away 

20. 

Nnmber of Meals 
Provided 

21. 

Treatments Given 


22. Signers to the Temper¬ 

ance Pledge 

23. Offerings for Home 

Missionary Work 

24. No. of Conversions 


j 3rd Quarter 
192 

3rd Quarter 
192 

4th Quarter 

192 

•ith Quarter 
192 

Totals 

192 

Totals 

192 

1 







2 







3 








10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


16 


16 

17 

is: 

I 

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19 


20 


21 


22 


23 

• 

24 

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4-> 

v§ 

s 

in 
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CO 

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C 

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B 

o 

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| Harvest Ingathering 

| Amount 

























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V 

a 

a 

ft. 













Watch¬ 

man 













Life & 
Health 


w 











Present 

Truth 













Signs 

Weekly 













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! Gazzette 













Review 













*§ 
a. § 
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No. Re¬ 
porting 













Member¬ 

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Loss or 
Gain 

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60 The Layman*s Missionary Movement 

In further development of the work, special consid¬ 
eration was given to plans providing help for the local 
church elders and leaders, and their assistants, the 
church home missionary secretaries, with a view to 
enabling them to get a broader vision of the possibili¬ 
ties before our church membership, and helping them 
to enlist every lay member in service and to adapt the 
lines of home missionary work to the individual need. 

This led to territorial and topical organization in 
every church. This plan is explained in detail in Home 
Missionary Series Leaflet No. 2. In a nutshell, this 
plan is based on the principle of each church’s being 
made to feel responsibility for the thorough working 
of the territory in which it is located, leading to the 
arrangement of proper district boundaries, assigned 
to the different members; and also the formation of 
topical bands in the church, for specializing in various 
lines of work which require study and research to 
handle effectively,— such as a band of students of the 
home-foreign settlement in the church territory and 
the promotion of missionary work therein; a band to 
give special study to the proper preparation and giving 
of Bible readings; and a band to study simple methods 
of treating the sick and all lines of Christian help 
work, etc. By means of a suitable questionnaire, an 
effort was made to secure definite information as to 
the standing of every church in the matter of mis¬ 
sionary organization; and by careful comparison and 
checking, this is made one of the live records in the 
office of the General Home Missionary Department, 
and serves to keep the secretaries informed as to the 
missionary organization. (Specimen questionnaire 
forms are herewith given, to show the nature of the 
information tabulated.) This is a work in which time 
is required in order that results may be seen, but en¬ 
couraging progress has been apparent from the first. 

The aim of the Department is to have every church 
a training center (as the Spirit of the Lord has clearly 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 


61 


Questionnaire to Be Filled Out by Conference Home 
Missionary Secretaries 

1. What is the membership of your conference?. 

2. No. of churches. No. of companies. 

3. No. of churches organized into bands for home mission¬ 

ary work ... 

4. Membership of the organized churches. 

5. Number of churches organized into bands territori¬ 

ally . 

6. Number of district prayer and mission bands in all the 

churches combined ... 

7. Number of isolated members in conference . 

Are they organized into a conference church?. 

Are they encouraged to do home missionary work by — 

a. Personal letters? . 

b. Monthly bulletin? ... 

c. Personal visits by yourself and conference work¬ 

ers? . 

8. No. of topical bands in your conference . 

а. Bible workers’ .+. 

б. Home-foreign . 

c. Christian help or medical missionary . 

d. Literature . 

e. Missionary correspondence . 

/. Special bands . 

9. Do you send out a monthly bulletin or news letter to 

church officers and conference workers? . 

10. On separate sheet, please give complete list of churches 
and companies in your conference, their location, 
the name and address of the elder, or missionary 
leader, and missionary secretary of each. 

Place a (/) before each church or company organized 
for missionary work. Also designate after name of 
organized churches (by a, b, c, etc.), topical bands 
formed as given under question 8. 

NOTE—Important. Answer items under 10 as completely as 
possible. 






















62 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 


(For Card Index in Office, Showing Conference Missionary 
Organization) 

Conference ... 

H. M. Secretary . 

Membership. Churches. Companies. 

Churches Organized . Memb. Org. Churches . 

District P. & M. Bands in all the Churches..... 

Isolated Members . Organized Conf. Church . 

Personal Letters . Monthly Bulletin . 

Personal Visits . 

Topical Bands in Conference: 

a. Bible Workers’. b. Home-Foreign . 

c. Help or Medical Miss. d. Literature . 

e. Missionary Correspondence. /. Special. 

Bulletins or News Letters sent to Church Officers and 
Conference Workers . How often mailed. 

Remarks: 


(For Card Index in Office, Showing Church Territorial and 
Topical Organization) 

Conference . Date Received . 


CHURCH 


ORGANIZATION 

NAME 

ADDRESS 

Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

( Leader .... 
1 Sec. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

( Leader .... 
1 Sec. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

{ Leader .... 
( Sec.. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

\ Leader .... 
1 Sec. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

[ Leader .... 
1 Sec.. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

( Leader .... 
1 Sec. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

{ Leader .... 
{ Sec. 


Territorial 

Top. A-B-C-D-E-F 

( Leader .... 
{ Sec. 



A — Bible Workers’. B — Home-Foreign. C—C. H. and M. M. 
D—Literature. E—Correspondence. F—Special Bands. 

















































The Layman’s Missionary Movement 63 

indicated that it should be), embracing an organization 
so complete that every trained worker will be doing the 
most efficient service. “Every sanctified heart will be 
pressed into service as an instrument of divine power.” 
— “Testimonies,” vol. 9, p. U7. “Not more surely is the 
place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than 
is the special place designated on earth where we are 
to work for God.”— “Christ’s Object Lessons,” p. 327. 
“The work of God in this earth can never be finished 
until the men and women comprising our church mem¬ 
bership rally to the work, and unite their efforts with 
those of ministers and church officers.”— “Testimo¬ 
nies,” vol. 9, p. 117. Therefore plans can be laid for 
nothing less than every church member an active 
worker for the advancement of the message, which 
means salvation to him, and places upon him the divine 
obligation to heed the instruction of the Master, 
“Go ... to thy friends, and tell them how great things 
the Lord hath done for thee.” Mark 5:19. 

The growth of the home missionary movement in 
foreign fields has been rapid and extensive. In Aus¬ 
tralia and Great Britain, for years prior to the reor¬ 
ganization of home missionary activities in 1913, home 
missionary work had been carried forward with much 
success. In a more limited sense, the same was true 
in some other parts of the world where the truth had 
been long established. During the great war, all 
phases of denominational work throughout Europe 
were greatly interrupted; but since 1918, the recon¬ 
struction has rapidly advanced, and the Home Mission¬ 
ary Department is coming into its own throughout all 
the countries of Europe. A strong corps of leaders are 
manning the field, and excellent reports of progress 
are received. In the East Asian Division, the home 
missionary work is well organized and being promoted 
by a strong force of secretaries. The same is true in 
South America and South Africa. It may be of inter¬ 
est to note the list of foreign countries with which 


64 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 


the Department is in constant touch and from which 
it is receiving regular reports: 


European Division at large. 
British Union. 

Scandinavian Union. 

Latin Union. 

South African Union. 
Australian Union. 

Spain. 

East Asian Division at large. 
India. 

Japan. 

Korea. 

Malaysia. 

Philippine Islands. 
Manchuria. 

China — various provinces. 


Austral Union. 
Peruvian Mission. 
Inca Mission. 

Cuba. 

Porto Rico. 
Venezuela. 
Honduras Mission. 
Guatemala. 
Salvador. 

Jamaica. 

South Caribbean. 
West Caribbean. 
Mexican Mission. 
Hawaiian Mission. 
Bahamas. 


South American Division at large. 


From all these fields, the need most often expressed 
is that of training and efficient leadership. The plans 
outlined by the General Department are quickly 
adapted to the needs of these far-away fields; and in 
some instances, the same plans, or very similar plans, 
are already on foot and are accomplishing good results. 
This indicates that the Spirit of the Lord is directing 
in this movement throughout the world, and that the 
more responsive the heart of the worker to the opera¬ 
tion of the Holy Spirit, the nearer we shall come to the 
blissful state of the church where “thy watchmen shall 
lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they 
sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall 
bring again Zion.” Isa. 52: 8. 

Encouraging results have followed the efforts of the 
Department in outlining a series of twelve programs 
for the monthly missionary service in the churches. 
The agencies for the promotion of this effort have been 
the Church Officers’ Gazette , issued monthly by the 
Review and Herald Publishing Association, and the 
yearly Home Missionary Wall Calendar. Through the 
cooperation of union and local home missionary secre- 



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66 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

taries, and the elders and leaders in the churches, these 
home missionary Sabbath programs serve to revive and 
create interest in the missionary work of the church; 
and the Department is constantly endeavoring to 
strengthen this feature. In connection with the Sab¬ 
bath missionary service, the weekly prayer and mis¬ 
sionary meeting is made prominent. “Only the work 
accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the 
merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been 
efficient for good .”—“Desire of Ages ” p. 362. There¬ 
fore prayer is the all-essential part of missionary work. 
As the workers meet together for prayer, for mailing 
literature and carrying on missionary correspondence, 
as well as the exchange of missionary experiences, 
much strength for Christian service is realized. 

By means of the Home Missionary Pulse Chart (see 
facsimile on page 65), an accurate record of the per¬ 
centage of reporting membership is obtained. As the 
missionary reports are sent in month by month, the 
record is changed accordingly; first, by the church 
missionary secretary, on the chart displayed in the 
church; then by the conference home missionary sec¬ 
retary, on the chart in the office; then by the union 
home missionary secretary, on the chart in the union 
office; and finally the record is made by the office sec¬ 
retary in the General Conference Home Missionary 
Department. 

Conspicuous in the office of the General Conference 
Home Missionary Department is the Multiplex Display 
Rack, extending across one side of the room, each of 
the fifty wings weighted with missionary pulse charts 
of the world field. It is an interesting corner to the 
visitor; and whoever he may be, he makes a bee line 
for his particular union or conference, and the artful 
observer will see on his countenance a reflection of the 
standing of the missionary pulse record that attracts 
him. If the chart shows the pulse beat for the preced¬ 
ing month or quarter steadily on the upgrade, a smile 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 67 

of satisfaction is the response. If the pulse line is 
going down, a somewhat disappointed and distressed 
facial expression is apparent. 

A 100% reporting membership is the aim. Some 
records are well above the 50% mark, but much lifting 
will be required to reach the top. To be sure, this 
record deals only with the number of church members 
engaging in some line of missionary work. The 
amount of work done is reported in another manner. 
But the greater the number at work, the more is ac¬ 
complished ; so it is primarily essential to enlist every 
one in service. 

The Home Missionary Department Bulletin meets 
a long-felt need and is doing its part in building up 
the movement. It is issued monthly from the General 
Department, and is designed as an exchange of helpful 
thoughts, plans, reports, and miscellaneous data, be¬ 
tween secretaries. It was designed specifically for the 
information of union secretaries, general secretaries 
in foreign fields, and conference presidents; but re¬ 
peated requests from individuals, that they be placed 
on the mailing list, have considerably increased the 
size of the list. 

The Home Missionary Reading Course provides a 
select assortment of books of special value and interest 
to home missionary secretaries and church officers 
along the line of personal evangelism and missionary 
activity. The greatest care is exercised in the selection 
of these books each year, and the Reading Course fur¬ 
nishes one of the most valuable educational features 
of the departmental work. 

An annual campaign of the church, fostered by the 
Home Missionary Department, is the Harvest Ingath¬ 
ering for Missions. Beginning in a humble way, this 
campaign for missions has grown from $14,000 in 
1908 to $543,324 in 1920. This amount was raised in 
North America alone; and including the amount raised 


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The Layman’s Missionary Movement 69 

in foreign countries during 1920, the figures reach ap¬ 
proximately $750,000. One million dollars for missions 
is the Harvest Ingathering world goal for 1921. This 
is a work in which old and young can have a part. It 
is adapted to the minister, the layman, the individual 
of whatever pursuit. It is one of the most comprehen¬ 
sive and effective lines of missionary service, accom¬ 
plishing a threefold result: (1) It greatly increases 
the Mission Budget. (2) It places thousands of copies 
of a truth-filled magazine in the hands of the public. 
(3) It opens doors for all lines of missionary work, and 
results in bringing many people into the truth. 

The accompanying chart will show the growth of 
the Harvest Ingathering work in North America for 
a period of eight years. The narrow column indicates 
the per capita amount raised. 

Space does not admit of a detailed account of all 
that has been accomplished in the various lines of 
missionary service. The records show a vast amount 
of work done during the seven years from 1913 to the 
close of 1920. One encouraging feature of the statis¬ 
tics stands out prominently on the list, and that is that 
19,780 souls were converted through the efforts of the 
lay members during this period. Truly the humble 
layman can be mightily used of God, and the estab¬ 
lishment of the Home Missionary Department of the 
general work is in harmony with the divine arrange¬ 
ment. The home missionary work is so far-reaching 
in its sphere of activities that it becomes a movement 
rather than an effort curtailed within the confines of a 
department. It touches all departments, receiving 
much from each, and imparting what it can of help 
and strength for the finishing of the Lord’s work. 


IV 

Principles, Policies, and Goals of the Home 
Missionary Department 

The layman’s missionary movement has reached its 
present stage of development in accordance with the 
light given in the Bible and through the spirit of 
prophecy. The success of the movement is grounded 
in the principle that every follower of Christ must be 
a living witness to the transforming power of God’s 
Holy Spirit. This principle is clearly set forth in the 
Scriptures. “When the Comforter is come, whom I 
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit 
of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall 
testify of Me: and ye also shall bear witness, because 
ye have been with Me from the beginning.” John 
15:26, 27. “Ye shall receive power, after that the 
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses 
unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in 
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” 
Acts 1:8. 

Inasmuch as the gospel calls men, women, and chil¬ 
dren of every nationality, class, and type, the proper 
training and direction of these individuals for the 
greatest usefulness in the cause of Christ devolves 
upon the church. 

Awakening the Church for the Finishing of the Work 

The awakening of the church is primarily essential 
to the success of this movement. Without an awakened 
church, we shall not witness a repetition of the scenes 
of Pentecost, and our results in heralding the gospel 
message will continue to be circumscribed. One writer 
has referred to the church as a “sleeping giant”— and 
it may rightfully be termed a sleeping giant of the 
energy, talent, enthusiasm, and financial resources 
needed for the finishing of this work. The evangeliza¬ 
tion of the world in this generation will never be ac- 

(70) 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 71 

complished until these limitless resources are called 
forth and utilized. It becomes necessary, therefore, to 
arouse the membership of our churches to universal 
action. 

“The whole duty of the whole church is to give the 
whole gospel to the whole world.” To us, as Seventh- 
day Adventists, God has committed the whole gospel, 
which is the one solution for all the ills of the human 
race. In the third angel’s message is found a satisfac¬ 
tory answer to all of life’s problems. Regardless of 
race, color, nationality, or clime, “it is the power of God 
unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Rom. 1:16. 
Though Satan has counterfeited truth, and has created 
many false systems of religion, through which thou¬ 
sands are led on the broad road to destruction, yet, 
amid the babel of false teaching, there are many 
honest in heart who are dissatisfied with that which 
they possess and are seeking for the “whole gospel” 
as contained in the third angel’s message. And they 
are entitled to the whole gospel. The responsibility 
of passing on this priceless gift to them rests with the 
church — the whole church. This glad work of extend¬ 
ing the gospel is not allotted to a special few who are 
chosen for a particular work. All who have espoused 
the cause of Christ are to occupy some place in the 
great army of those who are to herald the gospel mes¬ 
sage to the ends of the earth. The work will be 
finished only as the people of God unite every available 
force to be found in the churches for the task in hand. 
Again we repeat the emphatic statement by the servant 
of the Lord: “The work of God in this earth can never 
be finished until the men and women comprising our 
church membership rally to the work, and unite their 
efforts with those of ministers and church officers.”— 
“Testimonies,” vol. 9, p. 117. 

During the world war, the belligerent powers were 
compelled to organize every available force within their 
borders for a successful prosecution of their cause. In 


72 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

crises, legislation was enacted which sounded a rally¬ 
ing call into practically every home, challenging every 
citizen to service of some kind in defense of a common 
cause. People in every vocation of life were aroused 
to action. Those who were unable to go to the front 
were asked to contribute some service for the develop¬ 
ment of the resources behind the lines of battle. All 
are familiar with the program which was put into op¬ 
eration in our own country during those eventful days. 
Young men of military age who were unencumbered by 
domestic responsibility, were asked to render service 
in the ranks of the fighting forces. Still others placed 
their financial resources at the disposal of their coun¬ 
try. Even the housewife and the little children had a 
place to occupy in winning the victory over the enemy. 
As the issue grew, the personal service of the indi¬ 
vidual citizen became more and more important. 

Seventh-day Adventists have reached a critical hour 
in the warfare in which they are engaged. We are 
rapidly nearing the last great battle. It is a time of 
crisis,' and the entire church must be aroused if we 
would successfully meet the powers of darkness which 
are arrayed against us. While many in the ranks of 
our church membership may not be able to render 
service in the front line of battle, there is still some¬ 
thing for every one to do. All around us there are 
thousands of souls waiting for the touch of a human 
hand and the expression of human sympathy. They 
have been fighting a losing battle with the enemy, and 
sorely need the message which will speak peace to their 
troubled souls. The great need of the hour is an 
awakened, working church — every member, young 
and old, contributing some humble service toward the 
finishing of the work. The fundamental principle in 
the work of the Home Missionary Department is, 
therefore, to awaken the slumbering giant of spiritual 
power, and to make known, through personal convic¬ 
tion, that “the church of Christ is God’s appointed 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 73 

agency for the salvation of men. Its mission is to 
carry the gospel to the world. And the obligation rests 
upon all Christians. Every one, to the extent of his 
talent and opportunity, is to fulfill the Saviour’s com¬ 
mission .”—“Steps to Christ ,” p. 85. Upon the Home 
Missionary Department largely rests the responsibility 
of sounding the the Laodicean church a bugle call as 
found in Rev. 3:14-22. 

Organizing the Forces 

The responsibility for awakening the church in¬ 
volves the added responsibility of organizing the 
awakened forces for most efficient service. Space will 
not permit more than brief reference to the records of 
Biblical history which prove conclusively that God has 
always led His people through organized channels. 
Thorough organization characterized the movements 
of ancient Israel toward the land of Canaan. Moses, 
the great leader of that people, while with God on 
the mount, received instruction in the fundamental 
principles involved in the organization and direction 
of the hosts of Israel. The overthrow of the enemies 
of Israel was accomplished through the organization 
which assigned a definite place for every individual to 
occupy. This same principle is recognized in the mag¬ 
nificent ceremonial system which was given to Israel 
through Moses. In it all, the people were made to 
realize that God is a God of order. 

There is a beautiful lesson for us to-day in the 
experience of ancient Israel before they came to Sinai. 
Moses had led them out of the land of Egypt, and had 
given a marvelous demonstration of the principles of 
wise generalship. As they journeyed toward the prom¬ 
ised land, the burdens and responsibilities of leader¬ 
ship grew, and Moses was unable to meet the growing 
responsibility which devolved upon him as the leader 
of Israel. We read: “And it came to pass on the mor¬ 
row, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people 


74 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. 
And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to 
the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest 
to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all 
the people stand by thee from morning unto even?” 
Ex. 18:13, 14. The rulership of the forces of ancient 
Israel was a colossal task for one man, especially at 
that crucial period in the wilderness wanderings. It 
was imperative that some effective plan of organization 
be perfected which would result in a division of re¬ 
sponsibility, and thus the growing burdens of that 
great leader be minimized. 

It was a wonderful solution which Jethro opened to 
Moses’ vision in the wilderness. “Hearken now unto 
my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be 
with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that 
thou mayest bring the causes unto God: and thou shalt 
teach them ordinances and laws, and thou shalt show 
them the way wherein they must walk, and the work 
that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out 
of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of 
truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, 
to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, 
rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.” Ex. 18:19-21. 

Here is suggested a plan of organization which was 
to exert a molding influence on the whole future history 
of the people of God. In its operation, the burden of 
leadership was to be distributed among chosen indi¬ 
viduals who were to be leaders of divisions ranging in 
numbers from thousands to tens. It was the secret 
of success in the program of ancient Israel. After 
presenting the plan to Moses, Jethro told him what it 
would mean, not only to him, but to the hosts of Israel. 
“If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee 
so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this 
people shall also go to their place in peace.” Ex. 18: 23. 
The seal of divine approval is placed upon this plan, as 
is revealed in Num. 11:16, 17: “The Lord said unto 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 75 

Moses, Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of 
Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the 
people, and officers over them; and bring them unto 
the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand 
there with thee. And I will come down and talk with 
thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon 
thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the 
burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not 
thyself alone.” 

In this experience in the history of God’s people, we 
find a lesson for the people of God to-day. For many 
years, we have been journeying toward the heavenly 
Canaan; and at this juncture, as we near the critical 
hour of the age-long struggle, there is urgent need for 
the development of a simple, effective organized plan 
which will provide a definite place for every one in the 
ranks. This is a time of great danger to this people, 
and we must not allow the forces of the enemy to gain 
a foothold because we have failed in the past to fortify 
our forces through missionary organization. 

In order to understand clearly the principles in¬ 
volved in the organization of our churches for mission¬ 
ary work, it will be helpful to study briefly the plan 
of our denominational organization. “The whole gos¬ 
pel to the whole world by the whole church” necessi¬ 
tates,— first, the division of church territory to meet 
the needs of the working force; and second, the devel¬ 
opment of all lines of missionary activity to meet the 
world’s need. These two steps embrace the entire plan 
of operation for the evangelical work of the church. 
Let us consider them somewhat in detail. 

Division of Church Territory 

The division of church territory is in accordance 
with the principle of the more general division of the 
world field in the program of the Seventh-day Advent¬ 
ist denomination. With the General Conference or¬ 
ganization rests the responsibility of administering the 


76 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

work throughout the world field. For closer promotion 
of our work, the entire world field is divided into 
sections known as divisions, union conferences, local 
conferences, and missions. The direction and general 
oversight of the entire world field rests with the Gen¬ 
eral Conference. The “division” organizations are 
formed according to continental boundaries. Within 
the “division,” smaller sections of territory are organ¬ 
ized as union conferences; then within the union 
conference, the territory is divided into local confer¬ 
ences, and where necessary, preliminary organization 
leading to conference organization, known as missions. 

There is still one step further to which the plan of 
organization applies. Within each conference or mis¬ 
sion territory, there is the organization of the local 
church, which in turn has its field of evangelical en¬ 
deavor, and which the church is to organize on the 
same plan as the general organization. Thus the or¬ 
ganized plan for modern Israel presents a striking 
parallel to the program which was given to Moses in 
the wilderness: “So I took the chief of your tribes, 
wise men, and known, and made them heads over 
you, captains over thousands, and captains over hun¬ 
dreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, 
and officers among your tribes.” Deut. 1:15. 

Moses and the elders of the church might fittingly 
be compared to the General Conference organization; 
the “rulers of thousands” might well apply to the 
directors of the union conferences; the “rulers of 
hundreds,” to the leaders in local conference organi¬ 
zation; the “rulers of fifties,” to the leaders in the 
churches; and the last step in this comprehensive or¬ 
ganization plan, the “rulers of tens,” might aptly apply 
to the leaders of the organized divisions of work in the 
church, which we often term “band leaders.” To this 
latter division — the smallest — the leaders of “tens,” 
we wish to call special attention in this connection; for 
with this class of leaders, at this particular juncture 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 77 

of our denominational work, rests the responsibility 
of strengthening the base of supplies for the suc¬ 
cessful finishing of the conquest and entering the 
promised land. 

As to the thoroughness with which the territory 
surrounding each of our churches should be worked, 
we are given the following instruction: ‘‘Wherever a 
church is established, all the members should engage 
actively in missionary work. They should visit every 
family in the neighborhood, and know their spiritual 
condition. ... If every church member had sought 
to enlighten others, thousands upon thousands would 
to-day stand with God’s commandment-keeping people.” 
— “Testimonies,” vol. 6, p. 296. There can be no mis¬ 
take as to the meaning of this instruction. In order 
to carry it into effect, every church must become fa¬ 
miliar with the territory allotted as its particular field 
of missionary activity, and make proper division of the 
territory among the church members, so that “every 
family” in the territory will be reached in a personal 
way with the message of truth. 

The Development of All Lines of Missionary Activity 

The division of the world field into the final stage — 
the church territorial division — leads to the develop¬ 
ment of all lines of missionary work which are to be 
made operative in the church territory by the indi¬ 
vidual units of the church. We refer again to the defi¬ 
nite instruction given through the spirit of prophecy 
to guide God’s people in these last days: “In our 
churches let companies be formed for service. Let 
different ones unite in labor as fishers of men. Let 
them seek to gather souls from the corruption of the 
world into the saving purity of Christ’s love. The for¬ 
mation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort 
has been presented to me by One who cannot err. If 
there is a large number in the church, let the members 
be formed into small companies, to work not only for 


78 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

the church members, but for unbelievers. If in one 
place there are only two or three who know the truth, 
let them form themselves into a band of workers.”— 
Id., vol. 7, yy. 21, 22. 

Let us briefly analyze this instruction as we seek 
to make practical demonstration: 

1. Companies, or bands, should be formed in our 

churches. 

2. Both large and small churches are included in th« 

program. 

3. The formation of bands or companies is a basis for 

Christian effort. 

4. These bands are formed to work for — 

a. Members of the church. 

b. Unbelievers. 

5. The plan of band formation in our churches is a 

divinely inspired program. 

This organization of “small companies as a basis 
of Christian effort” in the churches, which we are as¬ 
sured is of divine origin, calls forth the “rulers of 
tens,” so to speak, and makes it possible to “ discern 
and develoy talent in the church” along the various 
lines of missionary activity. We are told that “not all 
can fill the same place, but for all there is a place and 
a work.”— Id., vol. 8, y. 16. “God expects personal 
service from every one to whom He has intrusted a 
knowledge of the truth for this time.”— Id., vol. 9, 
y. SO. “There are ways in which all may do personal 
service for God. Some can write a letter to a far-off 
friend, or send a paper to one who is inquiring for 
truth. Others can give counsel to those who are in 
difficulty. Those who know how to treat the sick can 
help in this line. Others who have the necessary quali¬ 
fications can give Bible readings or conduct Bible 
classes.”— Id., vol. 6, y. US3. Thus again is clearly 
brought to view the threefold development of mission¬ 
ary activity — home medical missionary ministry, lay¬ 
man’s Bible work, and the circulation of the printed 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 79 

page — as the foundation upon which the missionary 
organization operates. 

Education and Training for Service 

The church having been awakened to a sense of its 
responsibility in the promulgation of the third angel’s 
message, and the awakened membership having been 
organized according to the divine plan, the next essen¬ 
tial principle in the work of the Home Missionary 
Department is to provide the education necessary to 
produce well-equipped workmen, who need “not to be 
ashamed,’’ and by theory and practice, furnish the 
training essential for successful soul-winning effort. 

The recent war affords a striking illustration of the 
principle involved in this phase of the movement. In 
order to meet the forces of the enemy on the battle 
fields of France, it was necessary for the belligerent 
powers to perfect a powerful system of military or¬ 
ganization. Every man filled his particular place in 
this vast military system of organization as soon as 
he left civilian life. But being inducted into military 
service was not sufficient. Each soldier must pass 
through a period of intensive training. For weeks and 
ofttimes months, the training and discipline continued 
until every man was thoroughly drilled in the perform¬ 
ance of the task assigned him in the military program 
of his country. So thorough was the training, that in 
the hour of battle, every soldier acted automatically. 
So in the layman’s missionary movement—a movement 
that is to prepare the lay membership of the denomi¬ 
nation to give the last gospel message just preceding 
the second coming of Christ — it becomes necessary 
to develop an educational program, a system of train¬ 
ing, which will make the members of our churches suc¬ 
cessful in the art of soul-winning. 

In the writings of Mrs. E. G. White, much emphasis 
is placed on the need of training the church members 
for service. The statement is made: “It is a mystery 


80 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

that there are not hundreds at work where now there 
is but one. The heavenly universe is astonished at the 
apathy, the coldness, the listlessness of those who pro¬ 
fess to be sons and daughters of God.”— Id., vol. 9, 
p. 1>2. Apd then, as if in explanation of this mystery, 
the statement is made, “Because the church members 
have not been properly instructed by those whom God 
has placed as overseers, many are slothful servants.” 
— Id., vol. 6, pp. USU, US5. 

We quote still further from the, spirit of prophecy 
concerning this matter: “There should be a well- 
organized plan for the employment of workers to go 
into all our churches, large and small, to instruct the 
members how to labor for the upbuilding of the church, 
and also for unbelievers. It is training, education, that 
is needed. Those who labor in visiting the churches 
should give the brethren and sisters instruction in 
practical methods of doing missionary work. . . . 
There should be no delay in this well-planned eifort to 
educate the church members.”— Id., vol. 9, pp. 117,119. 

Strengthen the Base of Supplies 

A still further principle of the Home Missionary 
Department is to strengthen the base of supplies for 
the denominational movement in entirety, both as to 
workers for responsible positions in the homeland and 
abroad, and also in providing the means that are so 
urgently needed as the denomination lengthens its 
cords and strengthens its stakes. 

Fundamental to the accomplishment of this task is 
the development of the Christian home, in which there 
shall be reared the children of Seventh-day Adventist 
parentage who are destined to wear the mantle of 
service as it falls from the shoulders of the faithful 
veterans in the message who enter into rest. The 
program of the layman’s missionary movement must 
primarily reach into every Seventh-day Adventist 
home, and exert a molding influence that will qualify 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 81 

parents and children for the great work God has in¬ 
trusted to us. We must have spiritual homes, homes 
in which the love of Christ reigns supreme, if we 
would reach the world with the gospel of Christ in a 
convincing manner. Seventh-day Adventist homes 
should be beacon lights, whose beams shall penetrate 
far out into the darkness; and over the threshold of 
these homes should come a steady stream of well- 
seasoned recruits to enter upon extensive training in 
our schools and colleges, and from thence on into the 
vast harvest field, there to labor until “the night 
cometh in which no man can work,” and then to come 
forth rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. 

“The mission of the home extends beyond its own 
members. The Christian home is to be an object les¬ 
son, illustrating the excellence of the true principles 
of life. Such an illustration will be a power for good 
in the world. Far more powerful than any sermon that 
can be preached is the influence of a true home upon 
human hearts and lives. As the youth go out from 
such a home, the lessons they have learned are im¬ 
parted. Nobler principles of life are introduced into 
other households, and an uplifting influence works 
in the community .”—“Ministry of Healing ,” p. 352. 
“There are whole families who might be missionaries, 
engaging in personal labor, toiling for the Master with 
busy hands and active brains, devising new methods 
for the success of His work.”—“ Testimonies ,” vol. 9, 
p. AO. “God calls for Christian families to go into com¬ 
munities that are in darkness and error, and work 
wisely and perseveringly for the Master.”— Id., vol. 
9, p. 33. 

It will thus be seen that the Christian home is one 
of the greatest agencies for advancing God’s cause, and 
the layman’s missionary movement can succeed only 
as it is made operative and helpful in the home first 
of all; and having taken root here, it becomes a mighty 
tower of strength for all departments of the organized 


82 The Layman*s Missionary Movement 

work of God. From the Christian missionary home, 
our schools are filled to their utmost capacity, our sani¬ 
tariums receive self-sacrificing, consecrated helpers, 
our publishing houses are able to operate through the 
faithful service of denominational young people; and 
from our homes primarily, and our institutions sec¬ 
ondarily, the ranks of the ministry are replenished, and 
the many doors opening for usefulness in all phases of 
Christian service in foreign fields are entered. 

The layman’s missionary movement, true to its ap¬ 
pointed task, is an undercurrent of spiritual strength 
in every phase of the Lord’s work, cooperating to the 
fullest extent in every good work; and only as it 
promotes the interests of all, can it be a success. It 
fosters the financial interests of the denomination by 
keeping prominently before the membership of the 
churches the importance of faithful tithes and offer¬ 
ings, and by promoting special campaigns in behalf of 
funds for the mission treasury, such as the annual 
Harvest Ingathering, and the Missions Press Exten¬ 
sion effort; also by weekly “field day” efforts by the 
church members, in which a practical experience in 
meeting the public and in the sale of our literature is 
obtained, the proceeds from the sales going into the 
mission fund. 

POLICIES 

Having outlined the four fundamental principles of 
the Home Missionary Department, we will refer briefly 
to the working policies of the Department for the car¬ 
rying out of these principles. In the main, these 
policies have to do with the educational features of 
the movement, and may be referred to as follows: Lay¬ 
man’s Missionary Movement Training Course. Such 
a course, to be practicable, should be exceedingly 
simple, in order to meet the needs of all classes, and 
must include in its scope the necessary instruction 
covering every phase of the evangelistic work of the 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 88 

local church. The course that is being given with good 
results in the churches is outlined as follows: 

1. Church officer’s training — duties and responsibilities. 

2. Layman’s Bible work — instruction in giving simple 

Bible studies. 

3. Medical missionary and Christian help work. 

4. Circulation of the printed page in personal service. 

5. Home-foreign work — methods of evangelism among 

the foreigners in this country. 

This Home Missionary Training Course conducted 
in the churches helps to make the churches training 
centers for Christian workers, as the Spirit of the 
Lord has directed they should be; and when this train¬ 
ing becomes general, many of the problems which we 
are now facing in the church, will be solved. Provid¬ 
ing workers for the fields, and funds to finance the 
world-wide program of this denomination, will be 
greatly facilitated, and the church of God will rise to 
greater heights of power. 

Education in the Art of Soul-Winning 

Leaders in the layman’s missionary movement 
should be teachers who have had some experience in 
the work of soul-winning. They should not only be 
able to teach the theoretical principles of soul-winning, 
as given in the lessons of instruction to our churches, 
but should also be able to lead the members of our 
churches in personal soul-winning endeavor. Personal 
contact with lost men and women affords a laboratory 
experience for those Who are studying methods in 
Christian service. This is the practical side of the 
educational program, and the phase that should be 
especially emphasized. As our people are led into 
wider fields of Christian service, they gradually gain 
an experience that will increase their efficiency, and 
enable them to accomplish better results in their God- 
given work. Whether it be in studying methods of 


84 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

service in the home or in the church, or in personal 
contact with lost souls, life becomes a great training 
school from which every faithful member will even¬ 
tually “be graduated into the higher school in the 
courts above.” 

Training Officers in Our Churches 

The mobilization of our lay membership for the 
finishing of the work, and the completion of the mis¬ 
sionary organization of our churches, calls for a force 
of officers who will bear the responsibilities of mis¬ 
sionary leadership. These officers are chosen from the 
membership of the churches, and in many cases they 
have not had opportunity to become familiar with the 
duties and responsibilities of their office. 

The officers of the missionary organization in our 
churches are: 

1. The pastor or elder. 

2. Leader of Young People’s Society, who is the as¬ 

sistant missionary leader. 

3. The missionary secretary. 

4. Secretary of the Young People’s Society, who is as¬ 

sistant church missionary secretary. 

5. Superintendent of the Sabbath school. 

6. Principal of the church school. 

7. Leaders of the various bands in the missionary or¬ 

ganization of the church. 

These officers are termed the “Missionary Committee 
of the Church.” They form an important link between 
the members of the churches and the conference ad¬ 
ministration, and their positior? is of no minor impor¬ 
tance in the successful operation of the plans for the 
development of the layman’s missionary movement. 
An essential feature of the work of the department 
is the training of the officers in the churches along 
missionary lines. Opportunities for giving this train¬ 
ing are afforded in at least two principal ways,— 
church officers’ institutes, and church missionary con- 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 85 

ventions and institutes, which are explained somewhat 
in detail herewith: 

Church Officers’ Institutes 

During recent years, many of our conferences have 
been conducting brief institutes each year, to which 
officers from the local churches are invited. Various 
phases of the work of our churches are studied 
carefully, and thorough instruction given, which will 
enable the missionary officers of our churches to co¬ 
operate more intelligently with the general plans. 
Meetings of this nature have given a wonderful 
impetus to the layman’s missionary movement. In a 
military organization, the orders which are given from 
the headquarters of the highest officer are sent along 
the line to the different officers until they are trans¬ 
mitted to the last man in the ranks. In the great army 
comprising the membership of our churches, the same 
program will be in full operation when we have a 
trained force of officers in all of our churches who can 
transmit the program for the furtherance of the work 
to the last member in the ranks. 

Church Conventions 

Meetings of this nature afford another opportunity 
to come into personal touch with the missionary officers 
in our churches. No home missionary secretary in any 
conference or mission should consider a missionary 
convention in any church a success until he has availed 
himself of the opportunity to meet for counsel with 
the missionary officers of the church. During these 
conventions, he is closely associated with the officers 
who must maintain and perpetuate the layman’s mis¬ 
sionary movement in the church after he is gone. Fre¬ 
quent meetings with these officers, therefore, are quite 
essential to the success of the work. Lessons of in¬ 
struction covering the duties and responsibilities of 
the respective missionary officers have been prepared 


86 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

by the Department, and it is designed that they should 
be studied carefully during the convention. A trained 
leadership in our churches will help to give life and 
vitality to the movement, and make possible the ac¬ 
complishment of greater results in the work which 
lies before us. 

Church Missionary Institutes and Conventions 

The most vital feature of the educational program 
of the Home Missionary Department is the plan of con¬ 
ducting missionary institutes in our churches. This 
phase of the Departmental work has had considerable 
prominence since the reorganization of the Department 
at the General Conference in 1913. During its early 
transitional stages, the leaders in this movement rec¬ 
ognized the importance of coming into personal touch 
with the churches, and imparting to the members a 
simple training that would qualify them for successful 
soul-winning service. Meetings of this nature with 
the churches have necessarily been short, permitting 
of only a brief, intensive training for the church mem¬ 
bers, but such as will open to them a larger field of 
Christian service. Such institutes are not designed 
to take the place of the continuous, permanent educa¬ 
tional program in the churches, but do afford an oppor¬ 
tunity to give a greater impetus to the plans already 
in operation. Two plans of convention work are being 
especially emphasized in connection with the work of 
the Department,— week-end conventions, and ten-day 
institutes. 

Week-End Conventions 

During recent years, leaders in the layman’s mis¬ 
sionary movement have devoted considerable study and 
effort to the plan of holding week-end missionary con¬ 
ventions in our churches. Home missionary secre¬ 
taries in the various conferences have thus found it 
possible to reach all the churches in their respective 
fields at least once each year. Through this means, the 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 87 

members of the churches have become familiar with 
the different methods of missionary service, and have 
had opportunity to see a practical demonstration of the 
most successful methods of home missionary work. 
The purposes and objectives in missionary conventions 
in the churches might be enumerated under the fol¬ 
lowing heads: 

1. Awakening a deeper interest among our people in 
the layman’s missionary movement. 

2. Perfecting and vitalizing the organization of the 
churches for a great forward movement in home mission¬ 
ary work. 

3. Launching an educational program in the churches 
for the purpose of developing more efficient leadership in 
the layman’s movement. 

4. Acquainting the individual members of the churches 
with the most effective methods for winning souls. 

5. Making our churches organized training centers for 
the development of Christian workers. 

During the few days allotted to a week-end conven¬ 
tion in a church, there is opportunity for a brief pres¬ 
entation of practically every phase of the work of the 
church. Some phases of the work covered are sum¬ 
marized briefly, in order to estimate properly the 
value of this effort in behalf of the churches: 

1. Meetings with the church officers for brief, intensive 
training. 

2. The development of a definite plan of missionary or¬ 
ganization for the future work of the church. 

3. An inspirational study of the layman’s missionary 
movement with the entire church. 

4. A general study and analysis of numerous phases of 
the missionary work of the church, including the following 
lines of endeavor: 

a. Layman’s Bible work. 

b. Medical missionary and Christian help work. 

c. Circulation of the printed page in its different 

forms. 

d. Home-foreign work, or work for “the stranger 
within our gates.” 


88 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

Ten-Day Institutes 

The plan of conducting week-end missionary con¬ 
ventions in our churches has been most fruitful. 
However, not all has been accomplished that God has 
designed should be done in bringing our churches to 
their proper place in the work of God for this time. 
More and more the leaders in the home missionary 
movement have felt the importance of devoting more 
time to conventions in our churches. This is necessary 
to give permanency to the program which is to become 
a vital factor in the life of every church. Sufficient 
time and effort must be given to develop proper ini¬ 
tiative in the membership, and impart a confidence to 
them which can come only through a detailed study of 
the work which God has commissioned the church to do. 

In recognition of the possibility of still greater re¬ 
sults in the educational program of the Department, a 
successful plan of institute work for our churches, 
covering a period of ten days, has been devised and 
set in operation throughout the field. Most encour¬ 
aging results have followed institutes of this nature. 
A series of simple lessons of instruction have been 
prepared, covering the various phases of the work of 
the institute. Early in the institute, classes are formed 
from the membership of the church; and at stated 
periods from day to day, instruction is given in the 
art of soul-winning, as outlined in the program of the 
missionary work of the church. Thus a permanent 
mold is given to the missionary organization of the 
church, and a strong foundation is laid upon which it 
can build a working church. 

A study of Biblical history shows that training 
always precedes activity. We read with awe and in¬ 
spiration the record of the day of Pentecost, when the 
Holy Spirit fell on the disciples, and they left the upper 
room to accomplish a glorious work for Christ. Yet 
it should be remembered that a period of three years 
of intimate association with the greatest Teacher in 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 89 

the annals of human history preceded the events of 
Pentecost. During this time, Jesus taught His dis¬ 
ciples the science of soul-winning. The blessing of 
Pentecost was the inspiration which gave life and 
vitality to the experience they had gained in their 
close association with Him. 

We are in the time of “the latter rain,” when the 
Spirit of God is to fall upon His people. If we would 
experience the fullness of blessing in our churches, we 
too must put forth every necessary effort to make 
our churches training centers for Christian workers, 
where men, women, and children can receive a training 
in the science of soul-winning. Then, in harmony with 
the promise which has been reiterated many times in 
the writings of the servant of God, the time of refresh¬ 
ing will come, and marvelous results will be seen, which 
will eclipse even the records of Pentecost. 

Home Missionary Instruction at Camp Meetings 

Our annual camp meetings afford an excellent op¬ 
portunity for bringing the plans and program of the 
layman’s missionary movement to the attention of our 
people. In fact, the Home Missionary Department has 
come to occupy no small place in connection with these 
annual gatherings. More and more we are learning 
to recognize the importance of making the camp meet¬ 
ing an occasion for educating those who attend, in the 
principles of Christian living, and also in the work of 
soul-winning. This is in harmony with very definite 
instruction to this people, which is as follows: 

“In connection with our camp meetings in past 
years, God’s servants have improved many precious 
opportunities for instructing our people in practical 
methods of presenting the saving truths of the third 
angel’s message to their friends and acquaintances. 
Many have been taught how to labor as self-supporting 
missionaries in their home communities. Many have 
returned home from these annual gatherings, to labor 


90 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

with greater zeal and intelligence than hitherto. It 
would be pleasing to God if far more of this practical 
instruction were given the church members who attend 
our camp meetings than has usually been given in 
years past. Our general workers and our brethren and 
sisters in every conference should remember that one 
of the objects of our annual gathering is that all may 



Our annual camp meetings afford an excellent opportunity for bringing 
the plans and program of the layman’s missionary movement to the 
attention of our people. 


gain a knowledge of practical methods of personal mis¬ 
sionary work. . . . Properly conducted, the camp 
meeting is a school where pastors, elders, and deacons 
can learn to do more perfect work for the Master. It 
should be a school where the members of the church, 
old and young, are given opportunity to learn the way 
of the Lord more perfectly, a place where believers 











The Layman’s Missionary Movement 91 

can receive an education that will help them to help 
others.”— Id., vol. 9, pp. 81, 82. 

As a definite policy in connection with our camp 
meetings, the Home Missionary Department is seeking 
to develop its educational program through at least 
three important channels: 

1. One or more meetings with the entire encampment 
movwnmrt lera ^ P resen ^ a ^ on the layman’s missionary 

2. A daily meeting with church officers for a careful 
study of their problems, and the promotion of greater ac¬ 
tivity m their home churches. 

3. A special missionary day, when all in attendance at 
the camp meeting participate in a special effort to visit the 
homes of the people in the vicinity in missionary endeavor. 
An effort is thus made to put into operation the program 
lor our annual convocations, as presented to this people 
by the servant of God. Experience has demonstrated that 
where Gods program is followed faithfully, the desired 
results are accomplished in deepening the spiritual life of 
our people who attend, and also winning souls to the mes¬ 
sage, not only through the preaching of the word, but also 

churches ^ personal ministr y of the members of the 
GOALS 

1. 100% Working and Reporting Membership 

This goal is not primarily set by the Home Mission¬ 
ary Department, but is set for the Home Missionary 
Department in the following instruction: “Every one 
who is added to the ranks by conversion is to be as¬ 
signed his post of duty.”— Id., vol. 7, p. SO. “To every 
one who becomes a partaker of His grace, the Lord 
appoints a work for others.”—' “Ministry of Healing, n 
p. 148. “God calls upon every church member to enter 
His service. . . . Every one must learn to work, and 
to stand in his place as a burden-bearer. Every addi¬ 
tion to the church should be one more agency for the 
carrying out of the great plan of redemption.”—“ Tes¬ 
timonies,” vol. 8, p. 47. “Not more surely is the place 
prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the 


92 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

special place designated on earth where we are to 
work for God.”— “Christ’s Object Lessons,” p. 327. 
We are called not only to engage in work, but also to 
be faithful in making reports. “If . . . reports were 
brought in by consecrated workers, the missionary 
meetings would not be dull and tedious. They would 
be full of interest, and there would be no lack in at¬ 
tendance.”— Id., vol. 6, p. U36. “Let church members, 
during the week, act their part faithfully, and on the 
Sabbath relate their experience.”— Id., vol. 7, p. 19. 
In view of the definite responsibility so clearly outlined 
by the servant of the Lord, nothing less than 100% 
working and reporting membership can be our goal. 


2. Every Church an Organized Training Center 


When this ideal standard has been attained, there 
will come from our churches hundreds and thousands 
of well-trained, efficient workers, who will be able to 
participate successfully in the advancement of the 
message. In connection with this part of the program, 
we may look for a great church extension movement, 
which will result in whole families’ launching out into 
unentered fields to establish little centers of influence. 


3. Winning of Souls 

We can appreciate only to a limited degree the pos¬ 
sible developments in the work of the layman’s mis¬ 
sionary movement. When every faithful member of 
the remnant church is winning at least one soul for 
Christ each year of his Christian profession, we shall 
see the dawn of the triumph day. This is one of the 
objectives which the Department is constantly striving 
to reach. “If there were only one Christian in the . 
world now, and he were to win one other within a year, 
and these two were each to win one other during the 
next year, and this process were continued, every con- 
vert adding only one other each year, the whole world 
would be Christian in less than thirty years.”— “Mis- 





The Layman's Missionary Movement 93 

sions and Leadership ,” p. 172. It seems quite appar¬ 
ent, from this suggestion, that had God’s people been 
following His program for the evangelization of the 
world, the work might ere this have been finished. 

4. The Finishing of the Work 

Transcending all other objectives in the Home Mis¬ 
sionary Department is that suggested in the above 
words. For many years, Seventh-day Adventists have 
been looking and longing for the great event that is 
to mark the close of human history. It is the great 
objective of all life’s endeavors. During His ministry 
among men, Christ spent the passing days and nights 
in ceaseless, untiring sacrifice and toil in order that 
He might finish the work which the Father had given 
Him to do. “My meat is to do the will of Him that 
sent Me, and to finish His work.” John 4: 34. There 
is no grander, nobler scheme of life that can be pre¬ 
sented to any Seventh-day Adventist than to finish the 
work of God, not only in His own experience, but also 
in a world of sin. Every plan and program devised and 
set in operation in connection with the activities of 
this layman’s missionary movement centers around 
this ideal. And with the finishing of the work comes 
the crowning glory of an eternity in the kingdom of 
God, where we shall hold blessed converse with the 
saved of the ages, and especially those whom we have 
been instrumental in saving during our days of toil 
in a world of darkness. And it will brighten all eter¬ 
nity to find in the kingdom of God souls who, through 
our humble toil, were directed to the Saviour. Crowns 
of rejoicing will be ours through the endless ages. 

The words penned by the servant of God on “The 
Reward of Service” present an inspiring picture of 
the joy that awaits the faithful who dedicate their 
lives to the service of Christ. “The redeemed will 
meet and recognize those whose attention they have 
directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed con- 


94 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

verse they will have with these souls! ‘I was a sin¬ 
ner/ it will be said, ‘without God and without hope in 
the world; and you came to me, and drew my attention 
to the precious Saviour as my only hope. And I be¬ 
lieved in Him. I repented of my sins, and was made 
to sit together with His saints in heavenly places in 
Christ Jesus.’ Others will say: ‘I was a heathen in 
heathen lands. You left your friends and comfortable 
home, and came to teach me how to find Jesus, and 
believe in Him as the only true God. I demolished my 
idols, and worshiped God, and now I see Him face to 
face. I am saved, eternally saved, ever to behold Him 
whom I love. I then saw Him only with the eye of 
faith, but now I see Him as He is. I can now express 
my gratitude for His redeeming mercy to Him who 
loved me, and washed me from my sins in His own 
blood.’ 

“Others will express their gratitude to those who 
fed the hungry and clothed the naked. ‘When despair 
bound my soul in unbelief, the Lord sent you to me,’ 
they say, ‘to speak words of hope and comfort. You 
brought me food for my physical necessities, and you 
opened to me the word of God, awakening me to my 
spiritual needs. You treated me as a brother. You 
sympathized with me in my sorrows, and restored my 
bruised and wounded soul, so that I could grasp the 
hand of Christ that was reached out to save me. In 
my ignorance you taught me patiently that I had a 
Father in heaven who cared for me. You read to me 
the precious promises of God’s word. You inspired in 
me faith that He would save me. My heart was sof¬ 
tened, subdued, broken, as I contemplated the sacrifice 
which Christ had made for me. I became hungry for 
the bread of life, and the truth was precious to my soul. 
I am here, saved, eternally saved, ever to live in His 
presence, and to praise Him who gave His life for me.’ ” 

In full harmony with the Master’s purpose, the lay¬ 
man’s movement is on; and it will grow in numbers 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 95 

and power until it reaches its climax with the finishing 
of God’s work. There will be many problems to solve, 
and mighty obstacles to overcome; but victory is sure. 



“Far on the reef the breakers recoil in shattered foam, 
And still the sea behind them urges its forces home; 

Its song of triumph rises o’er .all the thunderous din — 
The waves may break in failure, but the tide is sure to win. 

“The reef is strong and cruel. Against its jagged wall 
One wave, a score, a thousand, broken and beaten fall, 
Not in defeat, but triumph, for the sea comes rushing in— 
Wave after wave is routed, but the tide is sure to win. 

“0 mighty sea, thy lesson in changing spray is cast; 

In God’s great plan of ages, it matters not, at last, 

How wide the shore of evil, how cruel the reef of sin,— 
The wave may be defeated, but the tide will surely win.” 


V 


The Great Problem Facing the Home 
Missionary Department 

The problem confronting Seventh-day Adventists 
to-day is the unfinished task of giving to every man, 
woman, and child the third angel’s message. We have 
much to say about the imminence of the end and the 
fulfillment of prophecy; but we do not realize that that 
which lies between us and the culmination of our hopes 
is not an event, but the finishing of a task — a task 
which, from a human viewpoint, is of gigantic propor¬ 
tions, but which, under God, can be speedily accom¬ 
plished. Commercial organizations do not consider it 
an impossibility to reach the individual unit in a world¬ 
wide scope. The Standard Oil Company entered China 
with the object of creating a demand for oil in every 
nook of the Chinese empire. Their method was to put 
toy lamps filled with kerosene into the hands of Chi¬ 
nese children, and through this means, rapidly extend 
the knowledge of the advantage of modern lighting 
facilities. With the knowledge came the demand for 
supply. I believe that if it is possible for commercial 
organizations to get in touch with every man, woman, 
and child, it is also possible for an organization such 
as the Lord has raised up at this time, with all the 
power of the universe back of it, to proclaim the mes¬ 
sage to every soul in this world; and I believe it will 
be done in this generation. 

Efficient leadership is the master key to the whole 
situation confronting this Department at the present 
hour. Many wonderful plans for the accomplishment 
of the various lines of work of the Department may 
be devised and set in operation, but the realization 
of every ideal and plan for the advancement of the 
Department hinges on the question of leadership. 
Efficient leadership is fundamentally essential to the 
success of any great movement. Bismarck, the “iron 

( 96 ) 


The Layman*s Missionary Movement 97 

chancellor” of the German empire, referring to the 
Russian empire, was heard to remark on one occasion, 
“It will be an unhappy day for Europe if Russia should 
ever produce a man who, in the pursuit of a given 
policy, would not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of a 
few hundred thousand or a million men.” Looking 
across the borderland of his own country into that vast 
empire stretching to the north and east of Europe, with 
its limitless undeveloped resources of wealth and man¬ 
power, he recognized that Russia's greatest need was 
men with a vision, who could lead her latent forces to 
greater conquests. The church of God is facing a 
similar situation to-day. Her resources of wealth and 
workers are limitless, and that which is needed now is 
men with a vision of her possibilities who can success¬ 
fully lead the army of Prince Emmanuel to greater 
conquests. 

One writer has said, “The problem of the church is 
the problem of a man.” This is in a special sense true 
in the program of the layman’s missionary movement. 
Leading this people into a deeper spiritual life, which 
is the true incentive to service, constitutes the secret 
of advancement. Concerning such leadership, the fol¬ 
lowing statement is made: “It is to the development 
and direction of these latent potentialities of the 
church that Christian leaders of our day are sum¬ 
moned. Whatever opportunity may be provided to the 
highest gifts and qualities of leadership in business 
or in politics or in education, none of these compare 
in their ultimate possibilities with the limitless and 
overwhelming field of achievement open to those who 
succeed in leading the church out into her divinely 
appointed inheritance and destiny .”—“Missions and 
Leadershipp. 1U0. To any young worker with con¬ 
secrated talent and divinely inspired vision, there is 
unlimited field of opportunity for successful life work 
through the various avenues of the Home Missionary 
Department. 


7 


98 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

The Solution 

The solution of the problem is promised — 

1. By the definite decision of strong, earnest young 
men in training in our schools to devote their life to 
this great work. 

2. By securing from the ministry men who will 
give to the layman’s movement the strength of their 
leadership and experience. 

3. By the development of efficient leaders in our 
churches whose talent can be used in directing the 
work in a larger field. 

While strong leaders may come from other sources, 
we look to the young people in our schools to furnish 
the leadership that is to direct the layman’s movement 
to a glorious triumph. 



VI 

Need of Workers to Extend and Improve the Work 
of the Home Missionary Department 

The world situation presents a most startling chal¬ 
lenge to the church. The very foundations of society 
are crumbling, and evidences on every hand point to 
the near approach of the last great conflict. But it is 
not alone conditions in the world which are alarming. 
Within the church itself, a sad lack of true godliness 
is apparent. On every hand, there is a hunger for a 
larger and more fruitful Christian life; and we are 
told that “the only way to grow in grace is to be dis¬ 
interestedly doing the very work which Christ has 
enjoined upon us,— to engage, to the extent of our 
ability, in helping and blessing those who need the 
help we can give them .”—“Steps to Christ ,” p. 85. 
The people in the churches are waiting to be led forth 
into a deeper experience in the practical demonstration 
of the things of God, and the Peed of the hour is for 
men and women who will devote their life to the ex¬ 
tension and improvement of all lines of the missionary 
movement in the church. 

Leaders in the layman’s missionary movement form 
an important auxiliary to the ministerial and evangel¬ 
istic force. We are told that “every addition to the 
church should be one more agency for the carrying out 
of the plan of redemption.”—“ Testimonies ,” vol. 7, p. 
222. Therefore every new convert is a potential home 
missionary worker, and the work of the minister and 
evangelist should be closely followed by the personal 
instruction in the art of soul-winning which is given 
by leaders in the layman’s missionary movement. 

In order to carry the cause of God to triumph, it is 
imperative that the apostolic method of gospel propa¬ 
gation be revived and put into operation. “We are 
told that believers were added to the church. We are 
also told that the number of disciples was multiplied. 

(99) 


100 The Layman*s Missionary Movement 

The fact is that additions to the church are to come by 
multiplication. If believers do not make believers, they 
are not fulfilling their mission. The congregation in 
which the members do not multiply themselves is not 
apostolic. To depend solely on an evangelist to come 
and gather up people and add them to the membership 
is to confess that the vine lacks living branches.” 

While plans are laid to conduct strong evangelistic 
efforts in the great centers of population, it must not 
be overlooked that the greatest asset to successful work 
is the church with its members well trained for use¬ 
fulness in the program. The world has unfortunately 
underestimated this important agency in its evangel¬ 
istic methods, and permitted its great movements to 
center around one man, or a few chosen individuals 
who were not sufficient for the task. In many cases, 
the personal touch has been almost wholly lacking in 
the public effort, and consequently the results have not 
been all that might have been expected. 

The people of God must not pattern after the 
methods followed by the popular churches, but on the 
other hand, should seek to follow the program of evan¬ 
gelism given us by divine inspiration. This program 
does not minimize the work of the ministry in preach¬ 
ing the gospel to audiences of thousands of people in 
great populous centers; but in connection with this 
work, the members of the churches are organized, edu¬ 
cated, and trained for acceptable cooperation. In this 
twofold union of the forces of the ministry and laymen, 
we may confidently, expect to see the walls of these 
modern Jerichos fall, and many souls won to the 
message. 

This will be in full harmony with the program of 
apostolic days, when thousands were converted in a 
comparatively short time. The following is stated by 
a prominent student of the program of evangelism as 
followed by the modern church: “The modern church 
has seriously overlooked one of the specific tasks which 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 101 

the Founder Himself gave to it. We have seemingly 
forgotten that the first thing we are to do is to bear 
our personal witness for the gospel. The early dis¬ 
ciples went everywhere proclaiming the Word. This 
was not true of the apostles merely, but of the whole 
group of disciples. As they were scattered abroad, 
they bore personal witness to the experience which 
they had had of the grace of God. That was the way 
the early church was multiplied. No more effective 
method has ever been found to supplant it. The mod¬ 
ern church has substituted the evangelist and the 
evangelistic campaign. Not that these may not have 
a place in the modern church; but when they supplant 
the divine method given by Jesus, they not only fail 
to secure the largest results in the way of accessions, 
but they rob the members of the most effective method 
for the development of their own characters in Chris¬ 
tian grace and strength. Those who know the facts 
realize that this personal witness has been largely lost 
to the church, greatly to its detriment. If the church 
would renew this apostolic method of propagating the 
faith it would develop much more normally and ex¬ 
tensively .”—“Dead or Alive ” pp. 2U, 25. 

In every union and local conference and mission in 
the world field, home missionary secretaries are needed 
for the building up of the work of the Home Mission¬ 
ary Department. The promoters of the general de¬ 
nominational work are coming to recognize more and 
more that they can ill afford to dispense with these 
secretaries in the accomplishment of their program, 
for they contribute greatly to the growth and develop¬ 
ment of the work as a whole. Such secretaries carry 
the responsibility of awakening, organizing, training, 
and placing in service the rank and file of the church 
membership. In addition to this important work, there 
is much clerical detail that must receive careful atten¬ 
tion, such as making out reports, keeping records, and 
instruction in all church business methods. In short, 


102 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

the home missionary leader and secretary must be an 
all-round worker, understanding all phases of denomi¬ 
national work, able to discern character and individual 
talent, fitting the various units of church membership 
into the proper place of service, so that the whole 
church will be symmetrically developed, and become a 
strong factor in -the advancement of the message. 

To this important program, God is calling the young 
people of this denomination in this time of opportunity. 
Many are responding to the call, and their faithful 
efforts are being blessed in the accomplishment of a 
wonderful work. In all parts of the field, the great 
army of the membership of our churches is being 
mobilized for a great personal evangelistic movement 
preparatory to sounding the loud cry of the third an¬ 
gel’s message. The need of an added force of strong, 
efficient leaders is imperative. Young people with 
vision and enthusiasm are needed, who can lead the 
members of our churches in all the world into great 
unexplored fields of Christian service. This is the pro¬ 
gram that will finish the work. There is no more 
effective plan of operation that has ever been given to 
any people for carrying the gospel of the kingdom to 
all the world in one generation. May the Spirit of God 
impress many more to join the ranks of the leadership 
of the layman’s missionary movement, and thus carry 
the banner of the cause of Christ to a glorious triumph. 


VII 


Qualifications Needed for the Work of the 
Home Missionary Department 

In no field of Christian activity is there need of 
more breadth of character, deeper Christian experi¬ 
ence, or more diversified qualifications than in the work 
of the Home Missionary Department. The leaders in 
the departmental work come directly in contact with 
human nature in all its phases; and it is essential that 
the home missionary leader ever maintain a high 
standard of Christian perfection, while at the same 
time apparently blind to the personal idiosyncrasies 
and failures which are ever manifest in others, and 
that in the Spirit of the Master, who came not to con¬ 
demn the world but to be a living demonstration of 
divine love, he inspire in all a courageous impulse to 
do their best in the Master’s service. 

A Willing Mind 

In the inspired Word, it is stated that “if there be 
first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a 
man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” 
Among the first prerequisite qualifications for service, 
therefore, is a “willing mind,” which implies absolute 
consecration. Whatever the natural talents and quali¬ 
fications controlled by the “willing mind,” they will be 
wholly consecrated for divine service. And that which 
is lacking in natural ability for successful work, will 
be supplied; for the assurance is given, “My God shall 
supply all your need according to His riches in glory 
by Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4: 19. 

Vision 

To the “willing mind” there comes the “heavenly 
vision”—a vision of what is involved in the need and 
the personal requirement, such as only the Lord Him¬ 
self can impart. Paul, »the great missionary apostle, 

( 103 ) 



A bookman’s convention recently held in western territory. “The 


states, “/ was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” 
Paul was a model in scholarly attainments. Keen, am¬ 
bitious, masterful, justly proud of his ancestry, at the 
zenith of his youthful aspirations for the highest 
earthly rank, he reached the turning point in his life 
when, “the eyes of ... . understanding being en¬ 
lightened,” he saw the true relation between earthly 
achievements and heavenly realities, and from the 
inspiration of the heavenly vision, he exclaimed, “Lord, 
what wilt Thou have me to do?” In response to this 
inquiry from an honest heart, Paul was divinely led 
into a field of service entirely beyond his power of 
conception. 

To every young man and woman, there comes an 
experience similar to that of Paul; and if there exists 
the “willing mind” that leads to obedience, there will 
begin a life of service which will receive a rich reward. 
The measure of a worker is the measure of his vision. 
To see in any department of the Lord’s work possi¬ 
bilities which other people cannot see or won’t see; to 
recognize a strong impulse to give to God all there is 
in one for the advancement of His cause through any 
particular channel,— this is to receive the “heavenly 
vision,” and to know that God is calling to leadership 
in that department. The following paragraph, written 

( 104 ) 







i gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” 


by Miss E. M. Graham, the one chosen to lead the 
missionary forces of the denomination when the Home 
Missionary Department of the General Conference was 
established in 1913, reveals the vision that came to her 
concerning the work to which she was called: 

“To my mind, this home missionary work is the last 
thing that is to be brought to its proper place in the 
work, before our work shall close. I see in it God’s last 
call to the marriage supper. It is through this home 
missionary work that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
will be brought about. The Lord gives the Holy Spirit 
in its fullness for service only. When our people go to 
work to give this message to all whom they can reach, 
they will feel the need of power to make their work 
effective, and they will then seek for the promised 
blessing with that intensity of desire which will bring 
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” 

Decision 

After vision comes decision. “Every one of those 
great heroes in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews was 
a man of decision. They saw, they considered. When 
Moses saw the burning bush, he did not write poetry. 
He went out and led God’s people through the weary 
wilderness. When Abraham saw the ‘city that hath 

( 105 ) 






106 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

foundations,’ he laid the foundations for God’s church 
right there in his own household. And if you and I 
catch the vision of the missionary possibilities, then, 
like Carey, we must put that vision in our cobbler’s 
shop and start to realize it.” And there should be no 
unnecessary delay. “Delays, doubtings, hesitation, 
and indecision frequently give the enemy every ad¬ 
vantage. . . . Prompt and decisive action at the right 
time will gain glorious triumphs, while delay and 
neglect will result in great failures and positive dis¬ 
honor to God.”— “Testimonies,” vol. 3, pp. U97, U98. 

Be “not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Talk 
it all over with the divine Leader in the seclusion of 
your devotional hour, and having accepted the com¬ 
mission, throw yourself into “the furrow of the world’s 
need,” and lead on the forces to triumphant victory. 

Discernment 

“That which is needed now for the upbuilding of 
our churches is the nice work of wise laborers to dis¬ 
cern and develop talent in the church ,— talent that can 
be educated for the Master’s use.”— “Testimonies,” vol. 
9, p. 117. The leader in home missionary work must 
be able to diagnose existing conditions and apply the 
proper remedy for the development and maintenance 
of strong, vigorous action in service. To discern talent 
wisely and to counteract the tendency to an “official 
religion,” lacking the real power of experience, is a 
task requiring the wisdom “which cometh down from 
above.” 

Knowledge 

“Knowledge is power.” The missionary worker 
should be a careful student of the Word and of good 
books. The greatest foe to successful missionary lead¬ 
ership is superficiality. Dealing with things pertain¬ 
ing to the kingdom of God, which are largely in the 
abstract, affords no excuse for failure to be well 
informed on all matters — spiritual, political, ethical, 
moral, technical, professional, and all other. The work- 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 107 

man of God is to study to show himself approved to 
God, “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth.” The wider the 
field of research and knowledge, the better prepared 
will be the worker to lead men and women of all grades 
of society in Christian service. Mr. S. D. Gordon ex¬ 
pressed the keynote of successful service, in the fol¬ 
lowing words: “Brains and pains and prayer form an 
irresistible trinity. When the gray matter and the 
finger tips and the knees get into combination, great 
results are sure to follow.” 

Self-Effacement 

A fundamental qualification to successful leadership 
in home missionary work is self-effacement. In a little 
volume entitled “Missions and Leadership,” is found 
the following: “The thing that guides the ship is the 
oak rudder away down below the water. There are 
men whose names are not on the church rolls as mis¬ 
sionary leaders, but who quietly have changed the 
policies of their local churches, and quietly have 
changed the lines of missionary activity, simply by 
the willingness to efface themselves as long as the 
work is done. A man who seeks prominence is not a 
leader; a man who seeks results is a leader. Lincoln 
was a leader, the most modest president we have ever 
had. And so you can go down the list of missionary 
leaders at home and abroad, and you will find that 
those men are missionary leaders who are willing to 
efface themselves for the sake of the kingdom of God, 
willing to suffer anything so long as the great cause 
is advanced, who do not count personal plans when they 
interfere with the plans of the kingdom of God.” 

Cooperation 

The work of the Home Missionary Department 
deals with the church as a whole, and there is no class 
of workers who should be more cooperative than the 


108 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

leaders in the layman's missionary movement. Each 
department of our general work deals with depart¬ 
mental matters; but the Home Missionary Department 
deals with the whole, cooperating with every depart¬ 
ment, and dealing with the development of the church 
as a whole. 

It is important to keep ever clearly in mind the re¬ 
lation the Home Missionary Department sustains to 
the organized work. A statement by one of our lead¬ 
ing ministers at a recent home missionary convention, 
is worthy of repetition here: “The layman's missionary 
movement in the denomination is unlike most other 
departmental lines, in that it is not seemingly gov¬ 
erned by any organic law which rigidly holds it to 
restricted lines. It is all-inclusive. It takes in every¬ 
body in this denomination. In fact, we have come to 
the issue where we must decide that we cannot be in 
the message and at the same time not be in the lay¬ 
man’s missionary movement. The eternal salvation of 
our people depends upon their getting the force of this 
truth into their souls. We hope that it may burn deep 
into the consciousness of this denomination. The home 
missionary movement will go on irrespective of any 
other issue which we foster.” 

The home missionary leader or secretary must be 
the exemplification of cooperation in its broadest sense. 

Courage 

If there is any group of workers who ought to be 
courageous, it is the home missionary leaders. Our 
divine Leader gives the assurance that “He shall not 
fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in 
the earth;” consequently there is no place for discour¬ 
agement in the Christian worker’s schedule. We can¬ 
not deny, however, that discouragement is one of the 
enemy’s most effective means of defeat. The unfailing 
antidote for this deadly atmosphere should ever be 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 109 

employed. It is found in Ps. 27: 14. “Wait on the 
Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen 
thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” 

Optimism 

Optimism is an essential qualification to successful 
leadership in the Lord’s work, and there is no other 
work where this element of character is so well war¬ 
ranted. The divine optimism is part of the worker’s 
equipment, for the triumph of the third angel’s mes¬ 
sage is placed beyond the range of doubt. To the new 
worker entering the home missionary field, the inten¬ 
sity of the situation may cause bewilderment, and he 
may not see the decided results from his first efforts 
which he had anticipated. But it must be remembered 
that this work is like growing oaks, and not pumpkins. 
A pumpkin may develop to maturity in three months, 
but not so the oak, which requires time for sprouting 
and gradual development. Some men are like horses, 
in that they are good breeching workers, but no good 
pulling against the collar. We need men who will keep 
up against the collar against all odds,— men who will 
smile, and stay by the work in every crisis, because 
they know that the principles are right. Optimism, 
perseverance, and stick-to-it-iveness make a link of 
triple strength in the chain of missionary workers’ 
qualifications. 

Adaptability 

The apostle Paul expressed a necessary qualification 
for the successful missionary worker, when he said, 
“I am made all things to all men, that I might by all 
means save some.” Adaptability is a qualification al¬ 
ways emphasized by the experienced worker. 

A young man who had just completed his college 
training and was planning on becoming a missionary 
to a foreign field, availed himself of an opportunity to 
consult a gray-haired veteran in God’s cause, who had 
spent fifty years in the mission field. 


110 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

“What, in your opinion,” asked the young man, “is 
the most necessary qualification for a person to have to 
be a successful missionary?” 

The old gentleman promptly replied, “Adaptability.” 

“Well, what do you consider as the second most 
necessary qualification?” interrogated the young man. 

After a little delay, the answer came, “Adapta¬ 
bility.” 

With somewhat annoyed attitude, and indication of 
his ability to grasp the point, the young man made one 
further attempt. 

“Yes, but what would you regard as the third neces¬ 
sary qualification for a missionary?” 

The missionary paused still longer, and with a sense 
of grave responsibility in dealing with one so young 
and inexperienced, and yet so zealous, he replied for 
the third time, “Adaptability.” 

To be able to adapt one’s self to all circumstances 
with the ease and grace of Christian manhood and 
womanhood, keeping personal preferences and opinions 
in abeyance, winning the hearts of all people to love 
and trust the Saviour, requires the power of the in¬ 
dwelling Christ. He who exemplified the missionary 
spirit in His earthly ministry, who mingled with rich 
and poor, the learned and the ignorant, by whom no cry 
for help was unheeded, is in this generation seeking to 
manifest Himself through His followers, and to extend 
to everyone the invitation to the marriage supper of 
the Lamb. 

A Teacher 

The home missionary worker must be “apt to 
teach.” The need of the hour is not so much sermon¬ 
izing as teaching. We must go beyond the pulpit to 
the people. “Because the church members have not 
been properly instructed by those whom God has placed 
as overseers, many are slothful servants. . . . They 
expect to be tended like sick children. This condition 
of weakness must not continue.”— “Testimonies,” voL 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 111 

6, pp. USUy 1*35. “The greatest help that can be given 
our people is to teach them to work for God, and to de¬ 
pend on Him, not on the ministers.”— Id., vol. 7, p. 19. 

An Organizer 

There must be system and thoroughness in all the 
work. It is not enough to go into a church and arouse 
the members to service — get all on tiptoe, or sitting 
on the edge of their seats, in their anxiety to do some¬ 
thing; but there must be an organization established 
for permanent service. This missionary organization 
must embrace all lines of work in a well-balanced sys¬ 
tem. Literature work, Harvest Ingathering work, help 
for the foreigner, Christian help work of all kinds, 
Bible work, and all missionary campaigns must have 
their proper place in organization. A successful mis¬ 
sionary leader must not only be able to enthuse, but 
he must know how to “strike while the iron is hot,” 
and make the enthusiasm produce permanent results 
through organized effort. 

One Who Blazes the Trail 

A leader is one who keeps ahead. No one can suc¬ 
ceed in getting others to do what he does not do him¬ 
self. It is necessary to say “Come” instead of “Go” in 
all lines of missionary service. If you want to make 
people follow your leadership, you must actually do 
what Christ did,— put yourself along with the multi¬ 
tude and take them with you into service. The passion 
for souls must be kept alive by personal contact with 
human needs and much prayer. This is the secret of 
the leader’s success. “The swiftest ships that cross 
the Atlantic are not those which have the finest cap¬ 
tains or the finest cabins; they are simply those ships 
where the boilers are fed with the greatest consump¬ 
tion of coal, where the fires burn fiercely. And that 
man will keep ahead who, with Henry Martyn, is 
quietly burning out for God.” 


112 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

The Price to Be Paid for Leadership 

The price of leadership is ably stated by Dr. Samuel 
M. Zwemer, a prominent leader of missionary forces 
of the present day, as follows: “The price of leadership 
is always loneliness. The leader is the one who keeps 
ahead. Did you ever see men running a race? The 
man who keeps ahead has no encouragement. All he 
has is the weary road. The fellows behind him, the 
man away behind, try to catch up with the leader, but 
the loneliest man on the turf is the man who runs 
ahead or alone. The loneliest ship on the Atlantic is 
the ship that sails fastest. And the loneliest man in 
your denomination is the man who sees the vision of 
what your denomination could do. And the loneliest 
missionary in Korea or Japan or Arabia is the man 
who sees what the others cannot yet see. But the price 
of leadership is always loneliness. There is a loneliness 
of the desert, and there is a loneliness of the sea, and 
there is a loneliness of a great city. But there is no 
loneliness so great as the loneliness of a great idea 
that nobody else has caught and only you can see.” 

Are you willing to pay the price? Remember the 
promise of the Saviour, “I will not leave you comfort¬ 
less : I will come to you.” The companionship of such 
a Helper, who understands and shares the burden, 
makes the loneliness of leadership a source of delight. 
The time is short, the work is great. “Every sancti¬ 
fied heart will be pressed into service as an instrument 
of divine power.”— “Testimonies,” vol. 9, p. 47. 

Be “not disobedient unto the heavenly vision,” but 
fight the “good fight of faith” and finish the course, 
rejoicing in the assurance which Paul expressed, 
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right¬ 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all 
them also that love His appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:8. 


i 




The Layman’s Missionary Movement 113 

“Child of My love, lean hard, 

And let Me feel the pressure of thy care. 

I know thy burden, child. I shaped it; 

Poised it in Mine own hand, made no proportion 
In its weight to thine unaided strength: 

For even as I laid it on, I said, 

‘I shall be near, and while he leans on Me, 

This burden shall be Mine, not his: 

So shall I keep My child within the circling arms 
Of My own love.’ Here lay it down, nor fear 
To impose it on a shoulder which upholds 
The government of worlds. Yet closer come; 

Thou art not near enough: I would embrace thy care 
So I might feel My child reposing on My breast. 
Thou lovest Me? I knew it. Doubt not then: 

But, loving Me, lean hard.” 

An Appeal to Our Youth 

The church of God is standing upon the eve of a 
mighty awakening. Everything about us shows that 
we have entered the time when a great layman’s mis¬ 
sionary movement, such as the world has never wit¬ 
nessed, is to take place. If there is one statement from 
the spirit of prophecy quoted more often than another 
by home missionary workers, it is this: “The work of 
God in this earth can never be finished until the men 
and women comprising our church membership rally to 
the work, and unite their efforts with those of minis¬ 
ters and church officers.”—“Testimonies ,” vol. 9,p. 117. 
That the work will be finished, there can be no doubt; 
for we have the positive assurance that God “will finish 
the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a 
short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Rom. 
9:28. The cutting short of the Lord’s work will be 
accomplished through the rallying of the great army 
of the lay members of the church to unite their Spirit- 
filled efforts with those of ministers and church officers. 

The Eleventh-Hour Call 

The parable of the householder, as recorded in Mat¬ 
thew 20, is applicable at this time. The sacred narra- 


8 


114 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

tive is readily recalled — how the householder, early in 
the morning and at various times during the day, made 
an agreement with laborers to enter his vineyard. The 
urgency of the task to be performed was such that 
even at the eleventh hour of the day, he engaged all 
available helpers, bidding them enter the vineyard, and 
promising them a just compensation. 

In the early hours of the Christian era Christ bade 
His followers, “Go ye . . . and make disciples (Chris¬ 
tians) of all nations” (Matt. 28:19, margin) ; and each 
succeeding hour, the call for laborers has been repeated. 
Many have responded and been diligently at work in the 
world-wide field. But as earth’s day draws to a close, 
at the eleventh hour, the Master searches for more 
helpers. Wherever He finds men or women, young or 
old, who are idling in earth’s market places, or who at 
least are not busy in His vineyard, He asks, “Why 
stand ye here all the day idle?” The answer of those 
referred to in the parable is oft repeated in our day — 
“Because no man hath hired us.” Perhaps, in other 
words, they say, “We are not on the conference pay 
roll.” “Our names do not appear in the Year Book of 
the denominational workers.” But to all such comes 
the authoritative command, “Go ye also into the vine¬ 
yard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.” 

The message of the eleventh hour is unquestionably 
to laymen. It comes from the same source, and is ac¬ 
companied by the same assurance of reward, as the call 
to all laborers. The eleventh-hour call is now going 
forth, summoning the church to universal action. Im¬ 
mediately following this great movement, the laborers 
receive their reward. We know that the laymen Will 
respond to the call, for the record shows that they are 
on the honor roll at the last, and receive their wages. 

Retrospect 

The student in our denominational schools is fa¬ 
miliar with the rise and progress of the advent move- 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 115 

ment; and in taking a retrospective view, there will be 
clearly discerned many indications of the leading of 
the divine hand, especially during the last seventy-five 
years, in preparing the way for the effective work of 
the great army of laymen in the last hours of proba¬ 
tionary time. 

Starting in obscurity and weakness — like the grain 
of mustard seed, “which indeed is the least of all 
seeds”— God’s final warning message has steadily in¬ 
creased in volume and power, until now, “when it is 
grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a 
tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the 
branches thereof.” The organization of the advent 
movement is of divine origin; and in its symmetry and 
effectiveness, it is the marvel of religious leaders of 
the day. 

Glance back year by year and see the sudden spring¬ 
ing into existence throughout the world of educational 
institutions, publishing houses, and sanitariums, and 
watch the strong force of trained workers leaving these 
institutions and manning the various departments of 
the organized division, union, and local conference 
work at home and abroad. 

The great army of the church of God is on the ad¬ 
vance. In its organization, there is the chief of staff 
(our General Conference president), the major staff 
(the presidents of divisions and unions) ; there are the 
subordinate officers (the managers of our institutions), 
and then the line officers (the officers of local confer¬ 
ences and churches). It is very apparent that up to 
the present time, the weak point in the organization 
lies with the infantry, so to speak — the men and 
women in the ranks. 

In the recent war, the greatest division of the army 
organization was the infantry. When week after week 
and month after month there existed widespread 
anxiety for fear that the enemy would triumph, much 
was said about the great Hindenburg line, and how our 


116 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

men would meet it. And now we know that the reason 
they were able to stand against the foe was because 
there was a mass attack — every man was in his place. 
The following story is related of an American army 
officer, who was serving under a French officer at the 
time: At a time of crisis in the war, when a certain 
objective was to be the limit of advance, the French 
officer said to the American officer, “Hold back your 
American boys!” But the American boys did not stop 
at the designated limit; they broke through the lines 
and went on. “Why didn’t you hold back the American 
boys?” asked the French officer; and the American of¬ 
ficer replied, “If the whole enemy army can’t hold them 
back, how do you suppose I am going to hold them 
back?” The result was a massed attack against the 
Hindenburg line, and it went down. In the work of 
God to-day, we have reached the very last phase of the 
age-long conflict, and the outcome is of such eternal 
consequence that it calls upon every individual member 
in our ranks to swing into line, and all together, in one 
great mass, clear the enemy’s line. It can be done, and 
it will be done. 

The whole world is staged for the final movement of 
the united church of God. We are making the last turn 
in the road of earthly events; we are driving straight 
toward the kingdom. The only thing that remains now 
is the rallying on the part of the people of God to give 
themselves in service for others; and the great out¬ 
pouring of the Holy Spirit as the divine equipment for 
service will follow. 

The Great Need 

In the Bible, we read of a band of men who rendered 
great service in a time of crisis during David’s leader¬ 
ship: “At that time day by day there came to David to 
help him, until it was a great host, like the host of 
God. . . . And of the children of Issachar, which were 
men that had understanding of the times, to know what 
Israel ought to do .” 1 Chron. 12: 22, 32. 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 117 

This is the need of the present hour — men and 
women who have understanding of the times and know 
what Israel ought to do, and who will constitute a great 
host to help; leaders who will train and lead forth in 
efficient service the men and women who, though form¬ 
ing a part of the Lord's army, are to a great extent 
failing to combine their strength, and thus are falling 
short of God’s standard in this crisis hour. The people 
are ready and willing to be trained for service. There 
can be no doubt about this, for it is apparent on every 
hand. The Lord Himself has implanted this willing¬ 
ness in the hearts of His children. It is one of the 
signs of the speedy culmination of the Lord’s work. 
“Thy people shall be vrilling in the day of Thy power,” 
is the promise. The great problem is to direct their 
activity, and to train them for efficient service. Propa¬ 
gandists are not so much needed to-day as are well- 
trained men. 

The Resource 

In searching for well-trained men and women, 
whose understanding has been enlightened to sense the 
need of the hour in the divine program, it is natural 
to turn first of all to our colleges, assured of finding 
a ready response from the noble young men and women 
who are there preparing for places of usefulness. 

Concerning the object and purpose of our educa¬ 
tional institutions, one of our leading educators has 
made the following statement: 

“The college is, or should be, the true producer of 
the missionary. The first object fundamentally and 
historically in the establishment of those schools from 
which comes our present system of instruction, was 
the preparation of persons who would fulfill the great 
commission. Though Christianity, when it came into 
the world, found the real education possessed by the 
Graeco-Roman schools of pagan origin, it refused to 
accept or imitate the system of its predecessor. But 
the church soon found itself confronted with the neces- 


118 The Layman*s Missionary Movement 

sity of adopting some method that would enable it to 
carry on the work dropped by the death of its pioneers. 
The recommendation of the apostle Paul, ‘And the 
things which thou hast heard of me, among many wit¬ 
nesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who 
shall be able to teach others also/ was adopted, and 
schools were established. Until they lost sight of the 
object for which they were inaugurated, these schools 
were successful. 

“As the progress of Christianity was attended with 
prosperity, the schools enlarged; and the first methods 
of teaching, which were primitive, began to assume 
a definite form. But when Christianity, in the lands 
of its triumphs, became worldly, its schools were led 
to substitute a worldly spirit for their missionary zeal, 
and consequently prepared their students not for the 
world field, but for those lands. 

“From these schools came the claustral and ca¬ 
thedral schools of later date, which developed into the 
colleges and universities of the present time. In pro¬ 
portion as the schools increased, the missionary spirit 
decreased, until to-day it is practically absent from the 
average educational institution. Individual students 
have been stirred to take up the foreign missionary 
work; the Student Volunteer Movement has assumed 
large proportions; but still the modern college has 
scarcely begun to fill its original place. In every school 
of our denomination, there should be offered a course 
of study that would consider the noble achievements of 
past missionaries. Countries far and near should also 
be studied, in order to enlighten the minds of the youth 
concerning present needs. This will produce the two¬ 
fold result of awakening a missionary spirit and of 
pointing out the needed preparation.” 

By connecting with the organized work through the 
layman’s missionary movement, the college graduate 
or student finds opportunity to develop in all lines of 
Christian service,— the gospel ministry, teaching, 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 119 

Bible work, medical work, the technicalities of law to 
meet religious liberty issues, organization principles, 
secretaryship, salesmanship, etc.; and not only is there 
opportunity for personal development along those lines, 
but necessarily the development of leadership by in¬ 
spiring the rank and file of the people with a spirit 
of willing cooperation and practical demonstration. 
There is no greater field of opportunity; there can be 
no more imperative call to the young people of our 
denomination. 

To the student body of the advent movement, the 
General Conference Home Missionary Department ex¬ 
tends the invitation: 

“Come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for 
the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.” 


Calls from on High to Students in Training 

(Selections from the writings of the spirit of prophecy) 
The Need 

“We need a well-disciplined, cultivated class of young 
men and women in our sanitariums, in the medical mission¬ 
ary work, in the offices of publication, in the conferences 
of different states, and in the field at large. We need young 
men and women who have a high intellectual culture, in 
order that they may do the best work for the Lord.”— 
“Counsels to Teachers ,” pp. 42, 43. 

Strength and Activity Needed 

“To-day He [God] is calling for young men and women 
who are strong and active in mind and body. He desires 
them to bring into the conflict against principalities and 
powers and spiritual wickedness in high places, their fresh, 
healthy powers of brain, bone, and muscle. But they must 
have the needed preparation.”— Id., p. 538. 

Students as God's Helping Hand 

“Students, make your school life as perfect as possible. 
You will pass over the way but once, and precious are the 
opportunities granted you. You are not only to learn but 



120 The Layman's Missionary Movement 

to practice the lessons of Christ. While obtaining your 
education, you have the opportunity to tell the wonderful 
truths of God’s word. Improve every such opportunity. 
God will bless every minute spent in this way. . . . You 
know not to what position you may be called in the future. 
God may use you as He used Daniel, to take the knowledge 
of the truth to the mighty of the earth. It rests with you 
to say whether you will have skill and knowledge to do 
this work. God can give you skill in all your learning. . . . 
Christ desires to use every student as His agent. . . . His 
helping hand — this is what you may be if you will yield 
yourselves to His keeping. He will lead you safely, and 
enable you to make straight paths for yourselves and for 
others. He will give you knowledge and wisdom, and a 
fitness for fuller service.”— Id., pp. 554, 555. 

The Needs of God's Cause 

“The cause of God needs efficient men. Education and 
training are rightly regarded as an essential preparation 
for business life; and how much more essential is thorough 
preparation for the work of presenting the last message 
of mercy to the world! ... In our schools our youth are 
to bear burdens for God. They are to receive a thorough 
training under experienced teachers.”— Id., p. 538. 

Missionaries to Distant Lands 

“From our colleges and training schools missionaries 
are to be sent forth to distant lands. While at school, let 
the students improve every opportunity to prepare for this 
work. Here they are to be tested and proved, that it may 
be seen what their adaptability is, and whether they have 
a right hold from above. If they have a living connection 
with heaven, they will have an influence for good on those 
with whom they come in contact.”— Id., p. 549. 

Home Missionaries 

“Young men and women should be educated to become 
workers in their own neighborhoods and in other places. 
Let all set their hearts and minds to become intelligent in 
regard to the work for this time, qualifying themselves to 
do that for which they are best adapted.”— “Testimonies,” 
vol. 9, pp. 118, 119. 

True Object of Education 

“The true object of education is to fit men and women 
for service by developing and bringing into active exercise 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 121 

all their faculties. . . . The Lord calls upon the youth to 
enter our schools, and quickly fit themselves for active 
work. Time is short. Workers for Christ are needed 
everywhere.” — “Counsels to Teachersp. 493. 

Definition of True Education 

“True education is the preparation of the physical, 
mental, and moral powers for the performance of every 
duty; it is the training of body, mind, and soul for divine 
service. This is the education that will endure unto eternal 
life.”—“ Christ's Object Lessons ,” p. 330. 

The Law of Service 

“Christ’s followers have been redeemed for service. 
Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. 
Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He 
gives the law of service,— service to God and to their fellow 
men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher 
conception of life than they had ever known. By living to 
minister for others, man is brought into connection with 
Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link 
which binds us to God and to our fellow men.”— Id., p. 326. 

A Quick Response Needed 

“Let those who have been trained for service, now take 
their places quickly in the Lord’s work.”— “Counsels to 
Teachers ,” p. 540. 

“What ‘University Course ’ Can Equal This?" 

“Both the youth and those older in years will be called 
from the field, from the vineyard, and from the workshop, 
and sent forth by the Master to give His message. . . . 
With such preparation as they can gain, thousands upon 
thousands of the youth and those older in years should be 
giving themselves to this work. Already many hearts are 
responding to the call of the Master Worker, and their 
numbers will increase. Let every Christian educator give 
such workers sympathy and cooperation. Let him encour¬ 
age and assist the youth under his care in gaining a prepa¬ 
ration to join the ranks. There is no line of work in which 
it is possible for the youth to receive greater benefit. All 
who engage in ministry are God’s helping hand. They are 
coworkers with the angels; rather, they are the human 
agencies through whom the angels accomplish their mis¬ 
sion. Angels speak through their voices, and work by their 
hands; and the human workers, cooperating with heavenly 


122 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

agencies, have the benefit of their education and experience. 
As a means of education, what ‘university course’ can equal 
this?”— “Education” pp. 270 , 271. 

Invitation and Command 

“Let every one be educated in such a way as to show 
the importance of the special work for to-day. Let every 
one labor for God and for souls; let each show wisdom, and 
never be found in idleness, waiting for some one to set him 
to work. The ‘some one’ who could set you to work is 
overcrowded with responsibilities, and time is lost in wait¬ 
ing for his directions. God will give you wisdom in re¬ 
forming at once; for the call is still made, ‘Son, go work 
to-day in My vineyard.’ ‘To-day if ye will hear His voice, 
harden not your hearts.’ Heb. 3: 7, 8. The Lord prefaces 
the requirement with the endearing wore} ‘son.’ How ten¬ 
der, how compassionate, yet withal, how urgent! His invi¬ 
tation is also a command.”—“ Counsels to Teachers ,” p. U19. 

A Double Blessing 

“Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the 
basis of true education. . . . The law of love calls for 
the devotion of body, mind, and soul to the service of God 
and our fellow men. And this service, while making us a 
blessing to others, brings the greatest blessing to ourselves. 
Unselfishness underlies all true development. Through 
unselfish service we receive the highest culture of every 
faculty. More and more fully do we become partakers of 
the divine nature. We are fitted for heaven; for we receive 
heaven into our hearts.”— “ Education ,” p. 16. 

A Lesson Taught by Nature 

“All things both in heaven and in earth declare that the 
great law of life is a law of service. The infinite Father 
ministers to the life of every living thing. Christ came to 
the earth ‘as he that serveth.’ The angels are ‘ministering 
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs 
of salvation.’ The same law of service is written upon all 
things in nature. The birds of the air, the beasts of the 
field, the trees of the forest, the leaves, the grass, and the 
flowers, the sun in the heavens and the stars of light,— all 
have their ministry. Lake and ocean, river and water¬ 
spring,— each takes to give.”— Id., p. 103. 

Qualified for Divine Achievement 

“Those who have an eye single to God’s glory will ear¬ 
nestly desire to fit themselves for special service; for the 


The Layman’s Missionary Movement 123 

love of Christ will have a controlling influence upon them. 
This love imparts more than finite energy, and qualifies 
human beings for divine achievement. — “Counsels to 
Teachers,” p. 495. 

Burden-Bearers 

“The youth must soon bear the burdens that older 
workers are now carrying. . . . There is need of young 
men and women who will not be swayed by circumstances, 
who walk with God, who pray much, and who put forth ear¬ 
nest efforts to gather all the light they can.”— Id., p. 537. 

A Fatal Rejection 

“Those who reject the privilege of fellowship with 
Christ in service, reject the only training that imparts a 
fitness for participation with Him in His glory. They re¬ 
ject the training that in this life gives strength and nobility 
of character.”—“ Christ's Object Lessons,” p. 264. 

A Safe Choice 

“The truth is soon to triumph gloriously, and all who 
now choose to be laborers together with God, will triumph 
with it.”— “ Testimonies,” vol. 9, p. 135. 

An Unnecessary Embarrassment 

“Missionary operations are constantly embarrassed for 
want of workers of the right class of mind,— workers who 
have devotion and piety that will correctly represent our 
faith. . . . Our schools are to be training schools. If men 
and women come forth from them fitted in any sense for 
the missionary field, they must be led to realize the great¬ 
ness of the work; practical godliness must be brought into 
their daily experience, if they would be fitted for any place 
of usefulness in the cause of God.”—“ Counsels to Teach¬ 
ers,” pp. 500, 501. 

A Duty 

“As a people who claim to have advanced light, we are 
to devise ways and means by which to bring forth a corps 
of educated workmen for the various departments of the 
work of God.”— Id., p. 42. 

Perfection in Speech 

“Every Christian is called to make known to others the 
unsearchable riches of Christ; therefore he should seek for 
perfection in speech. He should present the word of God 


124 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 


in a way that will commend it to the hearers. God does 
not design that His human channels shall be uncouth. It 
is not His will that man shall belittle or degrade the 
heavenly current that flows through him to the world.”— 
“Christ’s Object Lessons’’ p. 336. 

Establishing and Superintending Foreign Missions 

“The church may inquire whether young men can be 
intrusted with the grave responsibilities involved in the 
establishing and superintending of a foreign mission. I 
answer, God designed that they should be so trained in our 
colleges and by association in labor with men of experience, 
that they would be prepared for departments of usefulness 
in this cause. We must manifest confidence in our young 
men. They should be pioneers in every enterprise involv¬ 
ing toil and sacrifice, while the overtaxed servants of 
Christ should be cherished as counselors, to encourage and 
bless those who strike the heaviest blows for God.”—“ Coun¬ 
sels to Teachers,” pp. 516, 517. 

Scattering the Seeds of Truth 

“Hundreds of young men should have been preparing 
to act a part in the work of scattering the seeds of truth 
beside all waters. We want men who will push the tri¬ 
umphs of the cross; men who will persevere under dis¬ 
couragements and privations; who will have the zeal and 
resolution and faith that are indispensable in the mission¬ 
ary field.”— Id., p. 515. 

The Ministry of Song 

“There is power in the ministry of song. Students who 
have learned to sing sweet gospel songs with melody and 
distinctness, can do much good as singing evangelists. 
They will find many opportunities to use the talent that 
God has given them in carrying melody and sunshine into 
many lonely places darkened by sorrow and affliction, sing¬ 
ing to those who seldom have church privileges.”— Id., 
p. 51*7. 

Genuine Missionary Work 

“Students, go out into the highways and hedges. En¬ 
deavor to reach the higher as well as the lower classes. 
Enter the homes of the rich as well as the poor, and as 
you have opportunity, ask, ‘Would you be pleased to have 
us sing some gospel hymns?’ Then as hearts are softened, 
the way may open for you to offer a few words of prayer 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 125 

for the blessing of God. Not many will refuse to listen. 
Such ministry is genuine missionary work.”— Id., p. 548. 

Become Familiar with Other Languages 

“Young men should be qualifying themselves for service 
by becoming familiar with other languages, that God may 
use them as mediums through which to communicate His 
saving truth to those of other nations. These young men 
may obtain a knowledge of other languages even while en¬ 
gaged in laboring for sinners. If they are economical of 
their time, they can improve their minds, and qualify them¬ 
selves for more extended usefulness.”— Id., p. 508. 

Knowledge Put to Practical Use 

“Among the students in our schools there are those who 
have precious talents, and these talents they should be 
taught to put to use. Our schools should be so conducted 
that teachers and students will constantly become more 
and more efficient. By faithfully putting to a practical 
use that which they have learned, they will increase in 
ability to use their knowledge.” — Id., p. 545. 

Lines of Helpful Effort 

“There are many lines in which the youth can find op¬ 
portunity for helpful effort. Companies should be organ¬ 
ized and thoroughly educated to work as nurses, gospel 
visitors, and Bible readers, as canvassers, ministers, and 
medical missionary evangelists.”— Id., p. 546. 

Evangelistic Canvassers 

“When school closes, there is opportunity for many to 
go out into the field as evangelistic canvassers. The faith¬ 
ful colporteur finds his way into many homes, where 
he leaves reading matter containing the truth for this 
time. . . . Our students should learn how to sell our books. 
There is need of men of deep Christian experience, men of 
well-balanced minds, strong, well-educated men, to engage 
in this branch of the work.”— Ih. 

Student Christian Help Bands 

“Wherever possible, students should, during the school 
year, engage in city mission work. They should do mis¬ 
sionary work in the surrounding towns and villages. They 
can form themselves into bands to do Christian help work. 
Students should take a broad view of their present obliga¬ 
tions to God. They are not to look forward to a time, after 
the school term closes, when they will do some large work 


126 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 


for God, but should study how, during their student life, to 
yoke up with Christ in unselfish service for others.”— Id., 
p. 51*7. 

Specialists in Labor for the Churches 

“We need men well trained, well educated, to work in 
the interests of the churches.”— Id., p. U5. 

“That which is needed now for the upbuilding of our 
churches is the nice work of wise laborers to discern and 
develop talent in the church,— talent that can be educated 
for the Master’s use. There should be a well-organized 
plan for the employment of workers to go into all our 
churches, large and small, to instruct the members how to 
labor for the upbuilding of the church, and also for unbe¬ 
lievers. It is training, education, that is needed. Those 
who labor in visiting the churches should give the brethren 
and sisters instruction in practical methods of doing mis¬ 
sionary work.” — “Testimonies,” vol. 9, p. 117. 

“The best help that ministers can give the members of 
our churches is not sermonizing, but planning work for 
them. Give each one something to do for others. Help all 
to see that as receivers of the grace of Christ they are 
under obligation to work for Him. And let all be taught 
how to work. Epecially should those who are newly come 
to the faith be educated to become laborers together with 
God. If set to work, the despondent will soon forget their 
despondency; the weak will become strong, the ignorant 
intelligent, and all will be prepared to present the truth as 
it is in Jesus.”— Id., vol. 9, p. 82. 

“The leaders in God’s cause, as wise generals, are to 
lay plans for advance moves all along the line. In their 
planning they are to give special study to the work that 
can be done by the laity for their friends and neighbors. 
The work of God in this earth can never be finished until 
the men and women comprising our church membership 
rally to the work, and unite their efforts with those of 
ministers and church officers.”— Id., vol. 9, pp. 116, 117. 

An Army of Workers Like Paul 

“What the church needs in these days of peril is an 
army of workers who, like Paul, have educated themselves 
for usefulness, who have a deep experience in the things 
of God, and who are filled with earnestness and zeal. Sanc¬ 
tified, self-sacrificing men are needed,— men who will not 
shun trial and responsibility; men who are brave and true; 
men in whose hearts Christ is formed ‘the hope of glory,’ 
and who with lips touched with holy fire will ‘preach the 


The Layman's Missionary Movement 127 

word.’ For want of such workers the cause of God lan¬ 
guishes, and fatal errors, like a deadly poison, taint the 
morals and blight the hopes of a large part of the human 
race.”— “Acts of the Apostles ,” p. 507. 

The Great Need of the World 

“Never has the world’s need for teaching and healing 
been greater than it is to-day. The world is full of those 
who need to be ministered unto,— the weak, the helpless, 
the ignorant, the degraded. The continual transgression 
of man for nearly six thousand years has brought sickness, 
pain, and death as its fruit. Multitudes are perishing for 
lack of knowledge.”—“ Counsels to Teachers ,” p. 467. 

The Lie to Our Profession 

“Anything less than active, earnest service for the 
Master gives the lie to our profession of faith. Only the 
Christianity that is revealed by earnest, practical work 
will make an impression upon those who are dead in tres¬ 
passes and sins. Praying, humble, believing Christians, 
those who show by their actions that their greatest desire 
is to make known the saving truth which is a test to all 
people, will gather a rich harvest of souls for the Master.” 
—“ Testimonies ,” vol. 6 , p. 417. 

Look the Situation Fairly in the Face 

“We have no time to lose. The end is near. The pas¬ 
sage from place to place to spread the truth will soon be 
hedged with dangers on the right hand and on the left. 
Everything will be placed to obstruct the way of the Lord’s 
messengers, so that they will not be able to do that which 
it is possible for them to do now. We must look our work 
fairly in the face, and advance as fast as possible in ag¬ 
gressive warfare. From the light given me of God I know 
that the powers of darkness are working with intense 
energy from beneath, and with stealthy tread Satan is 
advancing to take those who are now asleep, as a wolf 
taking his prey. We have warnings now which we may 
give, a work now which we may do; but soon it will be 
more difficult than we can imagine. God help us to keep 
in the channel of light, to work with our eyes fastened on 
Jesus our Leader, and patiently, perseveringly press on to 
gain the victory.”— Id., vol. 6, p. 22. 

Hold to the Hand of Christ 

“It is young men whom the Lord claims as His helping 
hand. . . . Take hold of the hand of Christ, and do not 


128 The Layman’s Missionary Movement 

let it go. You may be a great blessing to others if you 
will give yourself unreservedly to the Lord’s service.”— 
“Counsels to Teachers ,” pp. 488, 489. 

There Is But a Brief Span 

“The day is at hand. For the lessons to be learned, the 
work to be done, the transformation of character to be 
effected, the time remaining is but too brief a span.” 

Heart Missionaries Needed 

“It is heart missionaries that are needed. Spasmodic 
efforts will do little good. We must arrest the attention. 
We must be deeply in earnest.”— “Testimonies ” vol. 9, 
p. 45. 

Clear the King's Highway 

“Consecrated workers should go forth into the field 
clearing the King’s highway, and gaining victories in new 
places.”— Id., vol. 9, p. 44 • 

Waiting for You 

“Heavenly angels have long been waiting for human 
agents — the members of the church — to cooperate with 
them in the great work to be done. They are waiting for 
you.”— Id., vol. 9, pp. 46, 47. 

A Universal Call 

“Everything in the universe calls upon those who know 
the truth to consecrate themselves unreservedly to the 
proclamation of the truth as it has been made known to 
them in the third angel’s message.”— Id., vol. 9, p. 25. 

Why Our Schools Have Been Established 

“It is to fortify the youth against the temptations of 
the enemy that we have established schools where they 
may be qualified for usefulness in this life and for the 
service of God throughout eternity.”—“ Counsels to Teach¬ 
ers ,” p. 495. 



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